‘Such an inspiration to others; she outshines the celebrities’

Liz Dawn, Coronation Street

‘Her attitude is amazing and her courage extraordinary,

a remarkable little girl’
Chris Tarrant

‘Kirsty has achieved more than many will do in their whole

lifetime’
Paul Horrocks, Editor, Manchester Evening News

‘Kirsty Howard is a one-off – with an inner strength that

transcends her appearance’
Russell Watson

‘Such bravery that she inspires everyone around her’

Mohamed Al Fayed
Kirsty in the studio – 2003. (YFA)
 KIRSTY
ANGEL OF COURAGE
The little girl who touched our hearts

Susie Mathis
Edited by Stephen Holby

Medavia
 Medavia Publishing
An imprint of Boltneck Publications Limited
WestPoint, 78 Queens Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1QX

www.boltneck.com

This edition published by Medavia Publishing 2006

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior
permission of Boltneck Publications.

Any copy of this book issued by the Publishers as casebound or as paperback

is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise,
be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s
prior consent, in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is
published and without a similar condition including this condition being
imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

# Susie Mathis 2006

The right of Susie Mathis to be identified as the author of this

work has been asserted by her in accordance with the
Copyright Design and Patents Act, 1988

A CIP catalogue of this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 0 9546399 5 2
ISBN 97809546399 5 2

Typeset in 1012/12pt Palatino by

Academic and Technical Typesetting, Bristol
Printed and bound by The Bath Press

Cover design by Mark Ralph ATT & Clive Birch # 2006

Cover picture by Manchester Evening News
CONTENTS

FOREWORD by David Beckham ........................ 9

PREFACE by Sister Aloysius .............................. 10

WHEN I MET KIRSTY........................................ 15

HOUSE NOT FOR SALE .................................... 22
IN THE LIMELIGHT .......................................... 27
THE BECKHAM CONNECTION ....................... 38
WINNING WAYS............................................... 51
BIRTHDAYS AND ANGEL BALLS .................... 64
GREAT MANCHESTER RUNS .......................... 75
ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS ........................... 86
THE FINAL COUNTDOWN .............................. 94
OUR KIND OF PEOPLE ..................................... 105
THE FINAL WORD IS KIRSTY’S........................ 131

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................. 139

Kirsty. (YFA)

6
 For Kirsty with affection and pride

With special thanks to Louise Blenkharn, without whose

expertise and patience this book would never have happened.

Through tears and laughter, I am indebted to dear Lou.

7
David kisses Kirsty at the Lowry Hotel, 2005. (CG MEN)

8
FOREWORD
by David Beckham OBE

Bravery and courage are words that are sometimes used too
often and lightly. I know what true courage and real bravery are
because I have seen them in a young girl who I am honoured
and proud to count as a friend.
When I first met Kirsty Howard, I was blown away by her
smile. In spite of all she is going through, there is always that
glowing and warm smile.
I remember being really nervous before the World Cup
qualifier against Greece. It was an important match, and we
needed a result to get to the 2002 World Cup.
Kirsty, who was the mascot that day, was introduced to me
before the game. She wasn’t phased at all and was so calm. I was
more nervous than her, but she put me at ease in an instant.
We have had many memorable moments together, from the
Commonwealth Games to BBC Sports Personality of the Year,
but she never ceases to amaze me with her strength and spirit.
I have never met anyone like Kirsty and I doubt I ever will
again.

9
Sister Aloysius with Kirsty. (HR)

10
PREFACE
by Sister Aloysius

In retrospect, looking back at the planning of Francis House,

it was a natural development in the work of the Catholic
Children’s Rescue Society. From its origin in 1886 the Catholic
Children’s Society has cared for children, firstly within the large
children’s homes which later adapted to family group homes,
adoption, fostering, family support, work with the deaf,
physically disabled children and, as they were then known,
Mother and Baby Homes.
In 1990 a new Social Worker, Jim Buggy, joined the Rescue
staff. He highlighted the need in the area for children with a
short life expectancy, a number of children he had discovered in
his work with Manchester Social Services.
I have been privileged to work in the Children’s Rescue
Society since 1951, so have lived and worked through the many
changes and served for a considerable number of years on the
Rescue Council. In 1990, Father Tom Mulheran had been in
charge of the Children’s Society for 19 years. He was at all times
open to hearing the needs of children and, on leaving the
Children’s Society to take on a diocesan post, also became
Chaplain of Francis House Children’s Hospice.
Along with Jim, I was asked to research the provisions
already in existence and possible further needs, and to report
back to each monthly Council Meeting. At that time the
Chairman of the Rescue Council of Management was Bishop
Kelly, who was full of encouragement and support for
enterprises benefiting the welfare of children and their families.
We learned there were only four Children’s Hospices in the
country at that time. These were situated in Oxford, Cambridge,
Birmingham and Wetherby, the latter being the nearest Hospice
for children and families of the Greater Manchester area. We
visited two of these Hospices, Acorns in Birmingham and
Martin House in Wetherby. In Martin House we received

11
tremendous encouragement and support. Robin Wood, the
Administrator, and Miss Lenore Hill, the Senior Nurse, filled us
in with all that such an undertaking entailed and the cost of
building and maintenance. Martin House was by then bursting
at the seams and they thought they would need to reassess the
geographical area from which they received children. The
prospect of a Children’s Hospice in Manchester was music to
their ears!
Research into the need for Francis House went ahead; in
March 1990 the decision was made by the Council to go ahead
with the development of a Children’s Hospice. It was agreed
that the Convent of our Lady of Lourdes, which was the home
of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of St Joseph, known in the
Diocese of Salford as the Rescue Sisters, be converted and
extended, and the Sisters would be relocated and the building
and grounds would be used by the Hospice. The Sisters vacated
the Convent on 3 December 1990 and the builders moved in on
the same day.
It was important that we were quickly registered by the
Charity Commission as a charity independent from the Catholic
Children’s Rescue Society – this work had to be for children of
all faiths and none, and so the Rainbow Family Trust came into
being. Once registered with the Charities Commission, we were
able to move forward with contacting the local Health
Authority and begin fundraising, which from the very
beginning was a heavy burden. During the next months we
met parents, pediatricians and other professionals engaged in
the care of children, and reported back at each meeting. The
Hospice must provide care of the entire family and not the child
in isolation. A scheme was set up in the name of Rainbow
Warrior, to try to secure a future for Francis House. We failed at
that time to get any backing from national press or media.
The completed building was handed over in October/
November of 1991 and officially opened by HRH Princess Diana
on 25 November 1991, a highlight for children, parents, staff,
and for supporters of Francis House. The first children were
admitted in early November.
Money continued to be a problem. In the run-up to the
Millennium it was decided that a Millennium Fund should be

12
started. It was felt that it might be feasible to raise a million
pounds within the year. This was not to be. We didn’t realise
just how hard it was to reach such a target. The following year,
2000, Susie Mathis, who had supported Francis House from its
initiation, while visiting, met Kirsty with her parents and two
sisters. There was an immediate reaction between Kirsty and
Susie.
All the children in Francis House are very special to us; the
criteria for acceptance is that they have a life-threatening
condition. Kirsty’s condition, unlike the condition of many of
the children, allows her to be mobile and communicate and
more important, she is unafraid of cameras. Susie talked with
Kirsty’s parents, Steve and Lynn, and Kirsty’s sisters, Zoe and
Kim. Together it was agreed that the Kirsty Appeal be initiated
and Kirsty be the face of and ambassador for all the children
using Francis House. The Warrior and Millennium appeals
were absorbed into the new one.
Through the combined efforts of Susie and Kirsty, Francis
House received the national and local media cover which we
simply could not attain in the early days.
I leave Kirsty and Susie to tell their own story.

13
WHEN I MET KIRSTY

‘What’s your name?’

‘Kirsty’
‘How old are you?’
‘Four.’
Her tiny frame, delicate and doll-like, seemed impossibly
fragile. She was attached by a narrow tube to an oxygen tank
and I noticed her lips and fingers were blue, although at the
time I had no idea why. Her eyes were huge, the most
expressive I had seen. Above all, her condition – whatever it
was – hadn’t stopped her charging about, evoking laughter
from the other children at the Francis House Children’s
Hospice, which is what had drawn me to her from where
I had been sitting outside in the garden. Now, as we chatted, I
realised Kirsty was also loving, questioning and intelligent.
I began to wonder if I might just have found the answer to our
problems.

The task
Not all bodies can be fixed with the tools at our disposal.
Sometimes, the best the doctors can do is to manage pain and
other symptoms and arrange support for the patients and their
families. This is the area of medicine known as ‘palliative care’.
Francis House Children’s Hospice in Manchester was
opened in November 1991 to provide palliative care for
children with a short life expectancy. The qualifying criterion
for families to receive this desperately needed care is that their
child is not expected to reach adulthood. Francis House was the
fifth hospice to be built and, prior to this phenomenal facility,
children and their families would have to gather on hospital
wards. Families were left to their own devices and counselling
was not a major consideration.
Diana, Princess of Wales, opened the Hospice. It costs more
than £1.5 million a year to run, at least £600,000 of which is for
the highly skilled specialist care required for children and their

15
families dealing with terminal illness. The total contribution
towards these costs provided by the local authorities amounts
to just £50,000 – a mere 3%. This is the best that FIVE Local
Health Authorities can manage between them! And Central
Government provides NOTHING. This means that just 17 days
of care are covered by public funding, leaving 348 days to be
covered by private fundraising.
I had been connected with Francis House from the beginning
and had raised money and gained support as a presenter at
Piccadilly Radio. I knew how hard it was, not just to raise £1.5
million once, but to have to raise it every year. However, I only
found out just how intolerable this burden had become when
one day in 1999 the administrator of Francis House, Sister
Aloysius, telephoned and asked me to join her for an urgent
meeting at the Hospice.
I learnt at that meeting that the annual fundraising target
had become impossible to meet and that, if no other monies
were forthcoming, the Hospice would last for only three more
months. Sister desperately needed help to raise the profile and
ultimately to secure the future of Francis House. This was not a
situation that could be remedied by functions or occasional
fundraising events. The Hospice would only be safe if it could
secure a substantial level of base funding. How much would be
required to do that? Five million pounds. Then, if there were a
shortfall in the annual funds raised, the interest alone from the
monies we had raised would act as a safety net.
It was a huge, almost overwhelming prospect and I had no
idea how it could be achieved. But, when facing a selfless
woman whom you admire and hold in such high regard, the
word ‘no’ is not on your list of options.
Such was the beginning of the Rainbow Millennium Fund
campaign, which has since become the Kirsty Appeal. This is
the story of how we set out to raise that £5m and how the
campaign was rescued and given its impetus the day I first met
that one special little girl.

Where do we begin?
At the time I took that call from Sister Aloysius, my friend Phil
Taylor and I were just embarking on our own business venture.

16
The idea was for us to earn enough money from arranging
events – parties or whatever – to pay our mortgages. There was
no business strategy but, as long as we enjoyed our venture, that
would be good enough for us. Our office was my dining room,
we used a borrowed computer and another friend donated a fax
machine, while the communal desk was my kitchen table. Now,
suddenly, as well as trying to make a success of the business, we
were going to raise £5 million for charity!
Don’t panic, I thought. It’s a big number but there are lots of
people out there so divide it up. Contact 2,000 people and ask
them to donate £2,000 each. This would be tax-deductible and
could be paid by direct debit into what was then the Rainbow
Millennium Fund. Easy.
After several weeks we had managed to sign up eight people. That
meant £4,984,000 to go. On to the next idea – use your contacts,
bring in the professionals!
Colin Lane is the Head of Sales with the Times Newspaper
Group and he offered his help. Colin was in the business of
selling advertising space and told us that companies sometimes
reneged on taking up space reserved for them, forcing the
newspapers either to sell it at a ridiculously cheap rate or to fill
the space with editorial. I was fired with enthusiasm – it seemed
perfect for the Appeal.
We duly persuaded an advertising agency to help us design
an ad. They came up with the muted outline of a child, as if seen
through a bathroom window. The caption read: ‘Just imagine,
in the mind of the person looking at this ad the undefined image
could be of their own child’. I wasn’t completely sold but it
seemed to make sense and several newspapers offered us free
space when and if it became available. Finally, it appeared in
The Times. I was overjoyed. We sat by the free phone
08000 971 197 hour on hour and it was very, very quiet; in fact
the phone never bloody rang!
It was a bitter blow. We had to start again. I asked myself
what motivated me to donate via an advert and I realised that
the message had to be tangible. If someone was raising money
for a mistreated donkey, a dancing bear or an abandoned dog,
looking at them through a muted image would not have the
same impact as looking at the real thing. I was convinced that

17
what we were trying to get over had to be real, a true story,
something or someone that the general public would be affected
by.
Although we didn’t know it, what we wanted, and what
Francis House needed, was Kirsty. And that was why, when I
first met her, I was so excited. However, meeting her was
only part of the solution; I was now faced with another huge
hurdle – and it was one we had to clear for the campaign to go
ahead.

Doctors cannot help Kirsty. . .

How do you approach the family of a terminally ill child and
tell them that you want to make her the face of an advertising
campaign? I knew the cause was right and I was sure that
Kirsty was the right person but how would her mother and
father react? Having a terminally ill child puts an enormous
strain on any family and can easily tear it apart as individuals
struggle to cope. But Kirsty’s background and medical
problems would surely test the strongest family unit to its
limit.

The Howard family – left to right: Kirsty, Steve, Kim, Lynn and Zoe.
(YFA)

18
 Kirsty Ellen Howard was born at 9:42 a.m. on Wednesday
20 September 1995 at Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester and
weighed an apparently healthy 7lb 2oz. Shortly after her birth,
her parents Steve and Lynn were told something was wrong.
As Steve remembers, ‘The nurse in the recovery room
monitored Kirsty’s breathing, and later that day the duty doctor
came to see us and told us that Kirsty may have a heart murmur.
We had no idea how bad it was’.
The following day Kirsty received ultrasound to her heart
and on the Friday she was rushed to the Royal Manchester
Children’s Hospital in Pendlebury. By that time, Lynn and
Steve realised their baby’s problem was more serious than had
first been imagined so Lynn discharged herself from
Wythenshawe to be by her daughter’s side.
For the next eight months Kirsty was constantly admitted to
hospital until finally she was referred to Birmingham Children’s
Hospital, which specialises in heart problems. There, she spent
15 days on a life-support machine suffering from bronchiolitis.
Even at this stage Kirsty was a fighter and astonished the
doctors by breathing by herself. But, sadly, she couldn’t sustain
this and needed open-heart surgery. Complications followed,
leading to three more open-heart surgery procedures. Time and
again she recovered, fighting her way through a total of eleven
operations, including nine cardiac procedures.
Despite her strength, there was a limit to what doctors could
do for a heart abnormality so rare that it has not even got a name
and so severe that, simply stated, she was born with her heart
‘back to front’ so that all other organs are misplaced. The
chances of a child being born with this condition are one in sixty
million and there is only one other child in the world known to
have suffered from it. The official diagnosis is as follows:
Left arterial isomerism, left verticular isomerism. Both great
arteries originate from the anterior ventricle. No Superior Vena
Cava on the right. Left Superior Vena Cava drains into the
coronary sinus. Right pulmonary veins drain into the right-sided
atrium and the left pulmonary veins drain into the left-sided
atrium. The inferior vena cava is interrupted and the hepatic veins
drain into the right-sided atrium

19
The doctors told Steve and Lynn that for the rest of her life
Kirsty would have to be attached to a 45lb cylinder, supplying
her oxygen 24 hours a day. She would need to be checked five
times a night to ensure she was still alive. By February 1999 the
medical team had determined that no further operations could
be performed on Kirsty, since she would not survive the
anaesthetic. Kirsty was terminally ill and could be offered only
palliative care of the type offered by Francis House Children’s
Hospice.
It was against this background that I found myself asking
Steve and Lynn and their other daughters, Zoe, born 15 June
1989 and Kim, born 12 February 1992, how they felt about Kirsty
being the figurehead for our fundraising campaign.
After I outlined my plans, they agreed to ring me the next
day with their decision. As Steve recalls: ‘We did have a major
worry and that was what would happen if Kirsty did not make
it; would the appeal still go ahead? Susie’s answer was
emphatically ‘‘yes’’ – Kirsty would be the figurehead and the
campaign would continue after her. We both felt that if Kirsty
fronted the campaign it would mean securing Francis House
and helping many other children and their families in the
future. We agreed’.
Hearing this news gave us a tremendous boost. We were so
keen to begin that Phil and I contacted Mark Hendley, a
photographer, to get cracking right away. So it was that, for the
very first time, the first of a million times, I found myself pulling
Kirsty’s oxygen cylinder into position for a photograph. I
remember asking her to sit on the dry grass to pose. Kirsty
automatically crossed her legs demurely, put her hand under
her chin and delivered a smile to die for, gazing directly into the
camera and piercing the lens with her phenomenal smile. What
a natural!
I placed the photograph in the Manchester Evening News’s
free paper the Metro News, along with the freephone number
08000 971 197. With the help and fantastic support of a lovely
lady called Lucy Palmer we got front page and yes, thank
goodness, this time the phone started to ring.
The response to the Metro article gave me the confidence to
go back to the advertising agency, J. Walter Thompson and

20
convince them that this was the way forward; Kirsty, telling a
true story, should head the campaign. They began work on the
wording for the first advert and, after numerous false starts and
alterations, the final strapline was chosen:
‘Doctors cannot help Kirsty, but you can’
The Howards have my unending gratitude for letting me into
their lives and putting up with me ever since. None of us knew
where this journey would take us but human beings thrive on
purpose and goals. Kirsty had been given only six weeks to live,
but I firmly believe that being able to help our campaign has
given her a sense of purpose and she has thrived ever since, by
being the leading lady of her Appeal. Every new challenge,
every big occasion, has been a milestone for Kirsty to strive
towards and to pass. Those milestones and those successes are
documented in this book and the thousands of photographs
which have been taken of Kirsty since Mark Hendley captured
that first image at Francis House.
I hope that what you see as you go through this book will
show what the campaign has brought to Kirsty and what Kirsty
has brought to the campaign.

Garden view of Francis House Children’s Hospice. (MEN)

21
HOUSE NOT FOR SALE

Francis House, East Didsbury, Manchester

When our Campaign began, there was a very real prospect that
the Hospice would close. The Kirsty Appeal exists to ensure
that, whatever fluctuations may occur in the annual battle to
raise revenue for the running of the Hospice, Francis House will
never be reduced to the bricks and mortar of an estate agent’s
particulars, but will instead remain a home for children and
families who need it.
No words can describe the atmosphere created within
Francis House and the extremes of emotions experienced
there day in, day out. Many people’s perception of a
children’s hospice is one of overwhelming sadness and
despair, but this is definitely not the reality. A hospice is a
place for children to live and laugh and to love whilst they are
alive, and for families to benefit from the respite and the care
away from the stresses of their everyday lives.

Reception and Day Lounge

The first thing you notice is the warmth and welcome from
lovely Carmel at the reception. This area is usually littered with
cuddly toys and it is home to the Hospice goldfish. You then
enter a huge communal day lounge. The sounds are varied –
children’s laughter, the TV showing the latest cartoon or video,
the carers carrying out their duties chatting away to children or
parents. Uniforms can create a barrier so the care team, headed
by Margaret Hickey and Sister Maureen, dress normally apart
from their badges. The day-lounge is the heart of the Hospice
and children in all stages of their illnesses are welcomed into
this room, whether in a bed, wheelchair, hammock, padded
comfy seats or on bean bags; anything goes as long as the
children are happy.
As soon as you are prepared to face the reality of terminal
illness you realise that, although it has to encompass within

22
itself the most tragic of situations, Francis House remains a
haven that is uplifting, inspiring, thought-provoking,
educational and yes – fun!

Snoozalam
This room is my personal favourite; a special place where
children come to explore their senses, realising that, if they
touch the soft objects that lie there with any part of their body,
they will hear music and see changing patterns of coloured
light; a safe, light-sensory environment, achieved through
strands of fibre optics on a soft, padded floor.
If a room like this could tell the story of the people who had
come within its walls, what a story that would be! This
inspirational room gives comfort, not just to the children, but to
other family members, carers and all who come to Francis
House.
It is a place where, when you need quiet, you can just close
your eyes and drift.

Music Room
The Music Room at Francis House is actually quite small, but
the work that goes on within its walls is immense. The music
teacher, a wonderful lady called Brigitte, works individually
with each child and also, from time to time, organises and
orchestrates the most amazing musical interludes. Each adult
and child is given a musical instrument of a wind or percussion
variety, while Brigitte herself conducts and co-ordinates –
magical!
The room also contains, despite the limited space, a grand
piano. It is worth pausing for a moment to tell you a little about
its history and about a girl called Sarah.
The Times newspaper in London generously offered five
thousand pounds to buy something we needed for the Hospice.
But what should it be? Objects we don’t need, toys we don’t
need; rocking horses breed in our Hospice! Naturally people
want to buy whatever is needed to make the children happy
and it is equally natural to assume that things are what we need
for that purpose. What people may not realise is that it is the
care team who do most to make the children happy and it is the

23
cost of maintaining that team which accounts for the bulk of
what we have to raise each year. On this occasion, however,
Sister Aloysius decided that she wanted a grand piano.
I confess I was shocked. My image of a grand piano was that
of an elitist object suited for a great aristocratic residence or a
grand concert hall. How wrong I was! I will never in my life
forget the moment when I witnessed the grand piano at its
instrumental best.
I had met Sarah previously and one would imagine, given
the number of visits that I have made to the Hospice, I would
become immune to the different severities of illness. But this
one day shocked me to the core. As I moved through our family
room, where on any one day there are beds, hammocks, chairs,
and music therapy, communal fun and communal empathy, I
was stopped in my tracks by Sarah.
In front of me there was a cosy bed, enveloping a little girl
with upsetting disfigurement. Unbelievably and unjustly, a girl
at the tender age of five was actually going through puberty.
Her eyes gazed towards a rotating aerial mobile placed where
she could see it. Feeling strongly that I wanted to communicate
with her and take her gaze away from the ceiling, I spoke, and
her entire face became redder and redder and she started to
shake uncontrollably. I asked Sister Maureen what I was doing
wrong. I was told that the little girl was just so happy that I was
there. Sarah seldom communicated.
Opening the door of the Music Room the day after we had
received the grand piano, I was privileged to see Sarah
experiencing a unique, quiet moment of complete
contentment. As she lay on a white furry blanket, she could
feel the vibration of the music coming through from the piano. I
thought I had seen everything but this was amazing: Sarah, with
all her problems, was benefiting enormously from Sister
Aloysius’s grand piano.

Teenagers’ Lounge
When the new extension to Francis House was built, it was felt
that there was a desperate need for a Teenagers’ Lounge.
Because the prognosis for many terminally ill children is
entirely unpredictable, many children thankfully become

24
young adults and they choose to continue respite at Francis
House.
This is quite simply a room for teenagers to do whatever
teenagers do. It is equipped with TV, sound system and all the
hi-tech gadgets of the sort that any normal teenager would
surround themselves with.
While many of the teenagers are wheelchair-bound, it is
important that they should enjoy as much independence as
possible, to be allowed to grow as individuals and to experience
the adolescent lifestyle. The carers in this area are exceptional;
they have a great understanding of each child’s individual
needs, which ensures that their respite is a happy experience.

Chapel
The chapel, which of course is non-denominational, is
dominated by a huge stained-glass rainbow, where the sun
filters through, casting a prism of light over the quiet interior.
On entering by the heavy door, I am always struck at once by
the aura. One is immediately aware of a thousand prayers that
have been offered here and the emotions of the people who
have passed through that very door, which after all these years I
still cannot master.
People always comment on the beautiful child-like tapestry
hanging behind the altar and there, to its right are three Books
of Memories. Look through them and as the pages unfold, you
will come to appreciate just how many children, of all
backgrounds, denominations and cultures have been cared
for as they came to the end of their little lives here at Francis
House.
Yet, in the face of tragedy, so many of the most uplifting
experiences have taken place in this chapel. Father Tom has
delivered full sermons without mentioning the word God –
Love at the time has been far more understood by some of the
parents of a little one who has passed away.
There are so many wonderful services throughout the year
but a favourite by far is the Midnight Service on Christmas Eve.
On this festive occasion, Sister Austin and Sister Aloysius join
families, while children, however poorly, join together with the
dedicated congregation, all of whom are praying for hope and

25
strength. Afterwards, we welcome Christmas Day with sherry
and mince pies.

The Rainbow Rooms

The Rainbow Rooms are actually mortuaries. These are the
rooms that will be the final resting place within Francis House
for children with terminal illnesses. It is here where families
whom the carers have known, laughed with, had fun with and
cried with, have to try to come to terms with their loss.
I hope I have shown you that Francis House is not a place of
overwhelming sadness but, as in the world at large, we are all
faced ultimately with the fact of mortality and tears will be
shed. Tears will never be more poignant than those that fall in
the Rainbow Rooms.

The Hospice book of memories. (MEN)

26
IN THE LIMELIGHT

It was not long before I realised that the limelight suited Kirsty.
Via Cavendish Press, the Sunday People picked up on her story
and decided to run with it. The initial pieces were over-
sensationalised and upsetting for the Howard family, but they
did grab the public’s attention. The paper’s chief writer, Rachael
Bletchly, along with the editor, Neil Wallis, started their own
appeal on our behalf with phenomenal success. The story led
directly to a call I received at home from a lady called Belinda
White.
At that time Belinda was in charge of the Al Fayed
Charitable Trust and was ringing on behalf of Mr Mohamed
Al Fayed himself. I could hardly contain my excitement when
she explained her purpose. He was thinking of donating a large
sum of money to the Hospice! Belinda visited the Hospice
within weeks and the subsequent fantastic £120,000 cheque
arrived along with an invitation for Kirsty to visit Harrods. This
was the largest single donation the Hospice had ever received
and a significant advancement for our campaign. It was also the
start of a very special relationship between Kirsty and Mr Al
Fayed.
Kirsty was already proving tremendously popular with
the media, but I realised we could not sit back and wait for
journalists to come to us. If the future of Francis House was to be
secured, we needed the ongoing support of the media – and we
had to give the journalists what they wanted. My first target was
the Editor of the Manchester Evening News (MEN).
This is no ordinary local paper. Celebrities and businesses
alike know that if they appear in the MEN, they will gain
respect and recognition for their good work. I tried and failed
many times to entice Paul Horrocks to become involved, and
finally succeeded at a networking party. I had to leave the
occasion early to attend a charity event but, on my way out, I
brushed past Mr Horrocks and took the opportunity to ask him
to visit the Hospice. To my delight he responded with those

27
Kirsty advertises the Appeal. (CB JWT)

28
wonderful positive words, ‘Phone my secretary and make the
meeting’. Even though there wasn’t a gap in the diary for six
weeks, somehow an appointment was made.
Once you have taken someone through its doors, Francis
House does not require a hard sell, especially when Kirsty
reaches out two tiny arms to be picked up. She herself actually
organised the tour of the ground floor and, as Paul and I left her
in the lounge and entered the quiet stairwell, it was clear that he
was visibly moved by our special haven. He asked me there and
then what I wanted from him and this led to Paul becoming a
Patron and the Manchester Evening News making Kirsty’s Appeal
its own. Since then Paul’s unstinting support has been the
bedrock of our Campaign, helping us to reach not only local
businesses and celebrities but also, and most important, the
people of the North West.

Kirsty poses for the lottery

advertisement for Cheetham Bell JWT.
(PM CB JWT)

29
 Meanwhile, pictures of Kirsty gave focus to a whole string of
advertisements in the national media, as we campaigned for
further donations. New straplines were tried, some better than
others, but Kirsty was the common thread and hers was fast
becoming the face of children’s hospices. But advertisements
mean little unless the public is aware of the story behind the
picture. That meant getting press coverage.
An obvious approach was to set about arranging events
involving Kirsty, which would attract media interest. But no
matter how noble the cause, newspapers will only print stories
if you give them a good angle. These cannot be arranged
overnight and Kirsty’s precarious health meant we never knew
if she would be well enough to take part in whatever had been
planned.
At this point you may well ask why we were concentrating
so much on donations from the public at large. What about
Government and the various charitable foundations? We
lobbied MPs to support improved funding for children’s
hospices, both through local authorities, and by extra funding
from central government, for palliative care within a children’s
hospice. For whatever reason, our efforts have failed, despite
the fact that, as we shall see, Kirsty took the fight all the way up
to Tony Blair!
We were no more successful with our numerous letters to
charitable trusts. Sister Aloysius and the Hospice Treasury
Committee have applied and been refused lottery funds on
three separate occasions. The actual applications involve so
much time and effort and it is heartbreaking, when you realise
that the whole process has been for nothing. This was so much
so that, at the next meeting with our advertising partners (by
this time known as Cheetham Bell J Walter Thompson), we
decided to go for a thought-provoking dig at lottery funding. If
the Lottery had no money for dying children then we could use
its very failure to support us as a fundraising tool and shame
them into the bargain.
Russ Vine and his creative team injected a new enthusiasm
towards achieving our goals. The advertisement pictured our
girl holding a ticket for the National Lottery and the strapline to
go with it was hard-hitting and controversial.

30
The very first picture of Kirsty as the leading lady of her Appeal. (MH)

‘The only way a terminally ill child like Kirsty will benefit
from the lottery is if she wins it’
The major response came from the Sunday People, exposing
the Lottery for allocating monies to causes which in some cases
appeared downright unworthy. The only response from the
Lottery Commission was a phone call from a gentleman at the
Press Office, asking me to withdraw the ad, as it discredited
their chosen beneficiaries! By the end of the call he was giving
me the name of the Lottery’s personal charitable trust, so that I
could write to them for support. I did write, and guess what?
No reply!

Harrods – London, here we come!!

The personal invitation from Mr Al Fayed to visit Harrods
was extremely exciting for Kirsty and the Howard family. This
was the first trip to the capital for everyone in the family, apart
from Steve, whose regiment had been sent there in the ’70s, to
provide a substitute firefighting force during the industrial
troubles.

31
 Two concentrators, seven oxygen cylinders, metres of leads
– organisation of this first trip was going to be a major logistical
exercise. Firstly, although Mr Al Fayed had offered to pay for
the transportation, we needed to find someone empathetic and
reliable enough to meet the Howard family’s needs. I phoned
several private hire companies and, after a few ‘who cares who
it is’, I was lucky enough to happen upon a lovely family in
Cheshire. They had a disabled little boy named Matthew and
therefore understood the difficulties and problems that
disability can bring. I could tell from our conversation that
theirs would be a genuine offer of help. Their quote was so
reasonable and that day a very special relationship was
formed with our new driver. Kirsty nicknamed him Roger the
Dodger!

Kirsty and Victoria Beckham open the Harrods sale on 4 January 2002.
(HPO)

32
 Mr Al Fayed had generously invited us all to stay as his
guests at an address known to us only as the dark blue square
on a Monopoly Board – Park Lane! The entrance to number 55
(sandwiched between the Grosvenor House Hotel and the
Ferrari showroom) was decked with elegant white Christmas
trees, whilst stylish uniformed concierges were on hand to greet
Kirsty. Wow! She had arrived!
The Howards were given a stunning three-bedroomed
apartment, all en suite, overlooking Hyde Park, decorated with
Elizabethan furnishings; huge chandeliers glistened above the
elaborate rooms. The square footage of this apartment must
have put it among the most prime real estate in London. In the
kitchen there was the most amazing floor-to-ceiling fridge,
stocked with Harrods produce – pastrami, yogurts, mineral
water, speciality jams, smoked salmon. Phil and I were
staggered by Mr Al Fayed’s generosity but Lynn took one
look and exclaimed ‘What no Carling?!’ You can take the girl
out of Northern Moor but you can’t take the Northern Moor out
of the girl, as Lynn would happily acknowledge.
The next morning, we dressed and I washed Kirsty’s hair; by
now I was becoming quite good at blow-drying. We left with
Roger to meet Father Christmas, or do I mean Mr Al Fayed? –
For us they were one and the same! Arriving at door number 10
of Harrods we were escorted to the opulent Georgian
restaurant, where socialites ‘do lunch’. On the majestic grand
piano the gentleman was playing They can’t take that away from
me, and no one could take that moment away from us.
Mr Al Fayed arrived on the fifth floor, flanked by four huge
security men, but in a flash every guard was dropped as Kirsty
approached him. It’s strange, but Kirsty always seems to do
exactly what is needed in any situation. Within seconds she was
in the great man’s arms. The security men showered her with
dolls and presents, she giggled and he glowed. She was totally
oblivious to the fact that he was the owner of the most famous
store in the world; she just saw a man with a kind face who was
taking her to see Father Christmas.
Kirsty, Zoe and Kim were all photographed with this
fantastic Santa and with Mr Al Fayed. As we left the grotto,
something very special took place. Tiny Kirsty began pulling at

33
the back of Mr Al Fayed’s jacket, he turned and found Kirsty
raising her arms high, inviting him to pick her up and hold her.
As he did so, the tears rolled down his face and in that moment
a real and special bond was formed between them.
The following February, Mr Al Fayed made a special trip by
private ‘plane to Francis House. Sadly one of the children had
passed away that morning. Though the privacy of Natalie’s
family was paramount at this tragic time, we knew that our
special guests would now witness first-hand, not just the
fantastic haven that was Francis House, but also the harsh
realities and profound sadness that families have to endure.
Mr Al Fayed arrived laden with gifts: there were cuddly
bears, DVDs, widescreen TV, golden chocolate bars – the
children were amazed. Once settled, Kirsty grabbed his hand
and proceeded to show him Francis House Children’s Hospice.
He was extremely moved and, after the tour, spent a quiet time
with Natalie’s bereaved parents.
After the photo-shoot that day, the picture that made all the
papers was an unsolicited cheeky action from Kirsty as she took
a £20 note from the top pocket of his jacket. By this time, he
had pledged a lot more than that £20; he had committed to
donating £5,000 a month from his Harrods Charitable Trust in
perpetuity.
Mohamed Al Fayed’s emotions on his visit to the Hospice
and especially his feelings for Kirsty are abundantly clear when
you look at the photograph.

Kirsty meets the Prime Minister

The Kirsty Appeal needs the Press and so do politicians. Neil
Wallis, the editor of the Sunday People, told us at the close of 2000
that Alistair Campbell had spoken positively about a trip to
Downing Street for Kirsty and a portfolio of our campaign was
prepared for him. Kirsty meeting Tony Blair was news.
‘You must be Kirsty,’ he said, greeting us behind the most
famous front door in the world. Quite unabashed, Kirsty
walked right up to the Prime Minister, took hold of his hand
and replied ‘You must be Tony’. Then, as the two of them
walked hand in hand into the White Room to meet the rest of
our party for Jammie Dodgers and afternoon tea, Kirsty told

34
 Kirsty knocks at No 10 – lucky policeman! (MS P)
him, ‘You have a very posh house!’ I’ll never forget her settling
into the huge chair once occupied by Sir Winston Churchill.
I am sure we all had our own agendas that day. Mine was
clear and focused. I doubted I was ever going to have another
opportunity to speak to the Prime Minister, and to make the
case for better funding for children’s hospices.
‘Where is the help from the Government?’ I pleaded. At this
point he turned to his PA. ‘Please get me all the information on
children’s hospices, to be on my desk on Monday morning’. I
really thought we’d done it. He was listening! I virtually
skipped out of that house – I could not wait to get back to the
hotel to celebrate.
The pictures speak for themselves but, nearly six years later,
we are still waiting for any difference. I have continued to write
to Mr Blair, not only to plead with him to make extra provision
for children’s hospices, but also to invite him to each milestone
celebration. We always receive polite acknowledgements of our
letters from his secretary, but nothing ever comes of it. I would
hate to think that Tony Blair felt nothing at all on the day I sat
with him and told him the truth about children’s hospices. I

35
would hate to think that he was just staging a scene from Yes,
Prime Minister when he called for the papers on his desk on
Monday morning. But Government should be judged by results
and we have had no results.
I said that we all had an agenda that day and that mine was
clear. Only Tony Blair can say for sure what his agenda was.

The Million Pound Party

Fundraising, however important, can sometimes be a thankless
task, so it is really important to celebrate the landmarks. A
constant source of motivation is watching Phil add to a huge
whiteboard the latest monies banked for the Kirsty Appeal. I
never really appreciated how many thousands it took to reach a
million but watching the total slowly grow in 0’s made that first
million an occasion for a momentous celebration.
Coincidentally the chosen date, 31 July 2001, was also the
28th birthday of one of our then patrons, Tracy Shaw, and she
graciously forfeited her own party to share it with Kirsty. Tracy
was an A list celebrity which guaranteed great press coverage.
The observatory of the Radisson Hotel was our chosen location.
My friend Adam Evanson worked a miracle and the hotel
supplied the food free of charge, with an excellent discount for
the champagne and other liquid refreshments. This was the
beginning of a great PR event and a huge party. We managed to
get a complimentary room for the Howards and, with the £1
million cake and balloons, we were on our way. One thing you
learn when continually begging is the importantance of always
saying thank you; if nothing else it allows you to ask again.
Sister Aloysius, Sister Austin, Father Tom, our patrons and
their partners, Russ Vine and the team from Cheetham Bell,
Rachael and Martin from the Sunday People, all sang happy
birthday to Tracy. One arrival who made a huge impact on the
event was the much-loved, late and sadly missed Frank
Lammar, who was himself going through a traumatic time
with his own illness. He was so touched by Kirsty, his eyes filled
with tears as she was photographed with Tracy blowing out the
candles on her cake. I don’t think that there are many little girls
who have played such a big part in raising one million pounds
but Frank definitely knew how that felt.

36
 Patron Tracy Shaw shares her birthday, to celebrate Kirsty’s first
£1 million. (MEN)
After the usual speeches, acknowledgements and thanks,
Kirsty started the first of many renditions of her favourite
Ronan Keating song, I Love You Best When You Say Nothing at All.
The sight I love best, even above front-page colour photographs
and the emotions they engender, is a prominent display of the
Appeal’s freephone contact number, because publicity,
however massive, does not guarantee an increase in our
donations unless people know where they can donate.
So only £4 million to go. . . .

37
THE BECKHAM CONNECTION

England v Greece – Manchester United 6 October 2001

Kirsty, however fragile and ill, has the interests and passions of
any normal healthy child.
She is a Manchester United fan; she is red through and
through and, when I realised that goals, in every sense of the
word, were an inspiration for her, I tried to find a way for her
to be a mascot for a Manchester United match. This never
happened, but instead, our efforts resulted in an uplifting
phone call several weeks later from Paul Barber, the Marketing
Director of the Football Association. ‘Will the England – Greece
game be OK?’ he asked, ‘and will Kirsty walk out hand in hand
with David Beckham?’.
Oh boy, that was a phone call I will never forget. How was I
ever to keep this a secret? I decided not to tell anyone but Phil,
until we had received the final confirmation, so I held that secret
until Kirsty’s 6th birthday on 20 September 2001, two weeks
before the match. Her expression was extraordinary; a mixture
of excitement and shock. She looked at me and said, ‘With
Beckham, with David, with David, with Beckham?’.
The date of the match, 6 October, was getting towards
winter; it was cold, what if it rained? What if she was not well
enough to do it? It simply might not happen, due to Kirsty’s
fragility. Two criteria guide us always; not only must the event
represent something that really makes Kirsty happy and
excited, but also she must feel well enough to follow it through.
When the big day came it was indeed quite cold but at least
there was no sign of rain as I arrived at Old Trafford, to meet
Kirsty and family at the Sir Matt Busby entrance. We met a
lovely lady called Sue at the reception and she looked after the
extra oxygen cylinders. We made our way round to the
designated area for changing. The mascot wears the strip of
the opposing team and I was handed the kit for Kirsty, which
unfortunately was a size intended for nine-year-olds. At the

38
 Kirsty and the England squad on 6 October 2001. (AIL)

time Kirsty fitted into clothes designed for a 3–4 year old, so it
was a good job that I had brought plenty of layers of tights and
thermal underwear, to assure insulation for Kirsty and to pad
out the Greek strip. We Sang Hey Baby and danced to try to keep
warm whilst the volume outside increased.
And then we felt the tunnel come alive. They were coming.
David Beckham walked through on his way to the pitch for
the warm-up and, as he reached the alcove, he stopped and
simply said ‘Hello Kirsty’. She forgot about the temperature.
‘Hello David’ she said, stretching out her arms for him to hold
her. He did what we all hope our heroes will do and held her in
his strong arms. He said he was going to have a kick-about and
he would be back. Kirsty came back into my arms and we
resumed singing Hey Baby with extra vigour.
I could scarcely believe it; Kirsty did not even turn her head
or look back for any reassurance. She just walked on, hand in
hand with her hero. Beckham and his team did not stride out
that day as strong athletes. Instead, they entered the arena
together, at the pace of our tiny, terminally ill little girl, Kirsty.
That sight will be remembered by many thousands of people
and it is one that I certainly will remember forever. How many
children have you seen walk out as a mascot and not learnt one

39
thing about them? I spent a lot of time to make sure the viewers
knew exactly who Kirsty was, and fortunately, that persistence
paid off, because John Motson in his match commentary
delivered his words with such emotion; he said ‘Here’s the
real hero of the team and it’s not a footballer it is an
extraordinary little girl and her name is Kirsty’.
The world’s press wanted a team photograph and so David
and the boys all knelt down ready to pose, never knowing how
important this particular photograph would be to Kirsty. To this
day it is her favourite and, when you ask her why it is so special,
she answers simply ‘Because they are all at the same height as
me’.
Kirsty watched the rest of the match with the crowd and,
when Beckham bent the ball into the net to send England to the
World Cup, he dedicated the goal to his greatest fan.
Kirsty was certainly David’s good luck charm that day, so
much so that he called her from Japan the night before the game
with Brazil.

England mascot Kirsty with her hero, David Beckham, at the

England v Greece qualifier for the World Cup, 6 October 2001. AIL)

40
‘Hello Kirsty, it’s only David. I’m just giving you a quick call to say
Thank You so much for the pictures you have done for me.
‘I’ve seen some pictures in the paper of you and you look absolutely
gorgeous as usual. It’s the night before the Brazil match, so I am just
about to go to bed, it’s about quarter past ten which is early for me, so
I’m going to get an early night and hopefully we are going to win
tomorrow for you.
‘Thank you again from me and all the players and we are all
wishing you well and wish you were here with us, but hopefully we will
see you soon.

Love you loads’.

David and Victoria Beckham join Kirsty at her 2001 Angel Ball at the
Radisson SAS, Manchester Airport. (MEN)

The Beckhams and the Angel Ball 2001

To be associated with David Beckham is an enormous publicity
coup for any charitable campaign and it was imperative at that
moment that we should make the most of our good fortune.
Later, I asked David if he would be able to attend Kirsty’s Angel
Ball in November 2001, our largest and highest profile event of

41
the year. To my surprise and delight he happily agreed to come
along with Victoria.
Although I was held to secrecy, the Press were there as a
matter of course and in seconds there was a furore, as they all
clambered to find the best position for the right shot. We live in
the north of England and are always at a disadvantage against
southern hospices and charities; it was fantastic that a
Manchester hospice could get the national coverage that
Kirsty deserved and which we needed to support our appeal.
The Ball raised £60,000. If we had been able to announce that
the Beckhams would be attending, yes, the tickets would have
been worth a fortune but of course, the couple were such hot
property that their attendance could not be advertised. Never
mind. Such frustrations were not for Kirsty. This was her Ball
and she was spending it on the lap of her hero.

Commonwealth Games – June 2002

The announcement that Manchester was to be hosting the
Commonwealth Games was greeted with a degree of cynicism
in some quarters, and it was not long before the pessimists from
around the country were questioning whether the City could
pull it off. By this time, as an adoptive Mancunian, I had become
so proud of Manchester that we wanted to see the City triumph
with the Games, and it seemed to us both obvious and
appropriate that our little, local hero should be at the centre of
that triumph.
When you are promoting a charity, however, nothing is
achieved without hard work and passionate commitment. Phil
and I were still all that comprised the fundraising office for the
Kirsty Appeal and my role centred on promoting our star. This
meant not only reacting to opportunities but actively seeking
them out. How wonderful would it be for Kirsty if we could
find a place for her in such a key event for the history of her
native City!
As soon as it was announced where the Games were to be
held, I immediately started making phone calls. This was some
eighteen months before the Opening Ceremony in which Kirsty
was destined to play such a prominent part. At first I was told
that children must be over ten to be involved, so I asked

42
 David Beckham and Kirsty at the opening ceremony for the
Commonwealth Games, in Manchester, 25 July 2002. (MEN)

whether Kirsty could give a posy to the Queen; there had to be

some part that she could play.
Despite her own unique qualities and all the wonderful help
we had received to make her a national figure, it looked as if we
were getting nowhere, until suddenly a call came from Sue
Woodward of Granada, who had been chosen to organise the
programming. I was about to undergo surgery and could not
attend the meeting but my last words to Phil from the hospital
bed were ‘Don’t come away until she has a starring role!’.
The meeting went well but the familiar message came across
that the organisers hoped that David or Victoria might play a

43
part. This was bad timing for us, since David was playing in the
World Cup and we had no way of speaking directly to him,
while his office sounded discouraging to say the least. So we
waited and held our breath. I was so scared that, if we did not
manage to get David on board, Kirsty’s own involvement
would be in jeopardy but, as the weeks went by, the organisers
kept in touch, always in a positive way, and then they asked us
to go in for a final meeting.
Phil and I still had no idea whether we could deliver the
England Captain, so we asked if the organisers would recognise
that Kirsty was, in any event, the right person to represent
Manchester at this unique and special occasion. As we drove up
towards the new stadium out hearts were in our mouths, little
knowing that we were about to experience probably the most
emotional moment of our campaign.
The Director, David Zolkwer, Sue Woodward and Di
Hendry all sat round a table drinking mineral water. We
talked about the event and explained that we had not heard
from David, that Victoria was now heavily pregnant and would
not be available to attend. After speaking about the wonderful
merits of Kirsty, I faced the Director, looked into his eyes and
waited for what he had to say. His words when they came were
the most magical that I have ever heard. He said that, when the
moment came for the baton to be passed to the Queen – after
6,000 people from all around the world had played their part –
at that key moment the person needed to represent Manchester
was someone who had demonstrated the strength and courage
to overcome all adversities to meet their goals, the very qualities
needed for the highest achievements in sport and in life. That
person was Kirsty, with or without David Beckham!
I cried. I ran round the table and hugged everyone (though I
hope these wonderful people will forgive me for declaring that I
would have hugged Quasimodo if in the room at that moment).
This was such a proud moment; the greatest sporting event in
our City was to be spearheaded by our little girl. David and Sue
then took us up to see the stadium and the site was awesome; I
had goosebumps on goosebumps. We were given the dates for
the rehearsals and were told that they would be writing to the
Queen, asking her to break protocol by walking down the steps

44
to meet Kirsty because Kirsty could not walk up the steps to
meet her. When we left that day, we were on such a high. In
only six weeks Kirsty would be meeting the Queen and opening
the Commonwealth Games!
Even as the date drew nearer, I was reluctant to tell Kirsty
and her family just what a major role she was scheduled to play.
There had been fresh worries about her health, although these
were now subsiding and her spirits were high. Only Sister
Aloysius had been told; she was very excited but sworn to
secrecy.
Playing the part of Kirsty at rehearsals, I kept looking
around the stadium, worried that it might not be finished in
time. The atmosphere was buzzy, exciting, electrifying as we
ran through the final build-up, in which seven famous sports
personalities, one by one, would run a part of the circumference
of the stadium, each passing the baton to the next, until the last
of them handed it to Kirsty for whom was reserved the honour
of presenting it to Her Majesty the Queen.
From the stands Phil and I sat watching the full build-up –
hundreds of children, bands, pop groups, fireworks, hot air
balloons and all manner of wondrous things, building up to the
final presentation. Our call took me to the place where Kirsty
would receive the baton and I ceremoniously handed it to the
‘Queen’ so that she could read from the scroll contained within
it. Even the rehearsal was spine-tingling excitement but then, as
I walked away, Sue Woodward came up and whispered
‘David’s doing it but don’t tell a soul’. I am great at keeping
secrets but I wanted to shout it from the rooftops, I was so
excited. It was magnificent news and going home that night Phil
and I were like excited parents looking forward to Kirsty
receiving the baton from her hero.
The day arrived and Manchester was awash with
excitement. Anyone who was anyone was at that ceremony
and everyone else was watching it on TV. The security was
enormous but, once Roger the Dodger had parked and been
scanned for bombs, we were taken in a golf buggy to the
stadium. All the people we passed, whether they were with a
school, in a band or in a choir, were shouting ‘Kirsty, Kirsty!’
and Kirsty waved at everyone; she was in such great spirits.

45
 The organisers had made a special little tracksuit for her and
she looked beautiful, with her little white trousers and her
Cadbury’s logo, her hair shining, long and straight and her face
just glowing with excitement. She is a little bit like Tinkerbell;
the more people clap, the more she shines. Our buggy
transported us from a lounge packed with celebrities to the
nearest entrance, where there were hundreds of women from
the choir that would to sing with Russell Watson. Again Kirsty’s
fame was evident, as everyone wanted to see her, speak to her
and touch her as we made our way through, then took our seats
to wait for the call to enter the stadium. No more rehearsals; this
was the real thing.
I turned to Kirsty who was snuggled against my body, ‘Are
you worried about the weight of the baton?’ I asked.
‘A bit.’
We had tried her with something that weighed the same and
it had been fine, provided that she did not have to hold it for
long. Of course, this was no longer a problem so I told her
‘Kirsty, don’t worry; someone you love will be handing you
that baton.’
Her eyes widened and she screamed.
‘David, is it David, is it David?’ and I told her that it was.
Our call came to move into the stadium, waiting to be taken
to the actual spot where Kirsty was to meet David. Russell
Watson and the enormous choir had finished singing and the
last echoes were reverberating around the arena. Then a quite
incredible scene unfolded in front of us, like something from
Close Encounters. The most enormous balloon, delicately holding
a fragile acrobat, moved with the wind across the skyline. It was
as if everybody in the stadium held their breath as the acrobat
floated down to the centre of the arena. She descended with all
the elegance and grace of Isadora Duncan and then passed the
baton to Denise Lewis.
Music sounded as the seven heroes of sport brought the
ceremony to its climax. Each athlete ran their part of the track
and the crowd cheered as the baton was handed from hero to
hero. As the fifth athlete was called to the centre of the track, we
made our way to our position. How Kirsty could stand the
excitement I do not know; my own heart was scarcely beating as

46
 David Beckham helps Kirsty hand the baton to HM the Queen,

I placed the tiny girl in the centre of the track and whispered to
her,
‘David will be here in just a few moments and I will be right
behind you.’
It was like Chariots of Fire as the large screens showed David
taking the baton and running that final course. The applause
was deafening. From the far distance he moved swiftly towards
us like some classical vision of Apollo; everything about him
shone – his face, his hair, his eyes, his smile as he ran towards
Kirsty. As he came yet nearer her arms slowly lifted towards
him and the look on his face is something I will treasure until
the day that I die. There are cynics out there who like to think

47
that people like David calculate everything in terms of public
image or personal gain
But there was nothing calculated about that look and no
thought of the cameras as the fragile little girl and her sporting
hero were reunited in a show of mutual love and admiration.
That may be why it was a moment which seemed to affect every
watcher throughout the world; that union touched one billion
people.
And then the realities; as David took her hand to lead her
towards the podium where the Queen would meet them, I
realised that Kirsty’s tube was on the wrong side but
unabashed, she simply flicked it over her head with her usual
aplomb, and off the two of them went to meet the Queen.
What came next will always seem strange to me, not because
of anything that happened but because of what did not happen.
The Sovereign meets so many people of so many types from
around the world and has a reputation for being able to relate to
all of them. It was therefore a complete amazement to me that
Her Majesty said nothing to either Kirsty or David; not even a
simple platitude – aren’t you brave, aren’t you pretty? There
was a smile from the Queen that was clearly genuine and it
remains an immensely proud moment, but a puzzling one. That
she didn’t find something to say at that moment, I’ll never
understand. During the rigmarole that followed, a chosen
representative opened the baton and removed the scroll for the
Queen to read.
Kirsty and I left the podium and made our way back behind
the stage. David was lovely and gave me a dutiful kiss and
asked how I was and then spent a private moment with Kirsty
before his entourage hurried him off.
From that high point, we went back to the VIP enclosure and
all the celebrities that had been involved throughout the evening
greeted Kirsty as if they felt privileged to be playing their part in
her happiness the whole evening. As I went home that night I
myself could not have been happier or prouder or more excited. I
was in raptures and so proud of Manchester and what they had
achieved in the organising of that magnificent ceremony, but
above all I was proud of a tiny little girl who once again had
touched the world with her courage.

48
 The next morning I cannot remember waking up or getting
out of bed. I think I just threw a coat on and ran out to get the
papers. Back home, as I lay them out in front of me, it was surreal
to see our little girl on the front pages. The pictures in The Times,
particularly, depicted exactly what had happened and bore
witness to the remarkable empathy between David and Kirsty.
Whenever that opening ceremony is remembered, Kirsty will be
the person who will stand out in most people’s memories.
The first call that day was from Sue Woodward, who had
campaigned to support us and spoke so highly of our little girl
at the press conferences; I thanked the Lord that Kirsty had
played her part so well for Sue and for all the organisers who
had put their faith in her. After that the telephones never
stopped. We only have two lines in the office and our personal
mobiles, but still I have never heard so many ringing tones in
one day; so many congratulations for Kirsty, so many offers of
support and many, many newspapers wanting follow-up news
stories about our little star.
Those next few days were crazy and we never stopped but
once again profile, no matter how high, is very difficult to turn
into hard cash. You can be front page in all the newspapers and
people will assume this means a massive boost to your Appeal
but, unless they print your full charity details and a contact
number, it is little more than a lost photo opportunity for the
fundraiser; so how do you evaluate the real importance of these
wonderful high profile moments? This has been one the most
difficult aspects of the Campaign.
Our biggest problem, perhaps, has been making sure that
the high profile of the Kirsty Appeal does not actually detract
from the work of the other fundraisers, earnestly seeking
support for the day-to-day running of Francis House. The Kirsty
Appeal exists entirely to establish the £5 million pound fund
needed to ensure the long-term future of our special haven, and
our cherished aim in promoting Kirsty has been to reach that
target in her lifetime, as a lasting memorial to her courage, and
as a legacy for the cause which has given such purpose and
meaning to a life attenuated by terminal illness.
It was always our hope that the increased knowledge and
appreciation of Francis House and the children’s hospice

49
movement, arising out of our own high–profile campaign,
would also give increased impetus to that day-to-day
fundraising, which continues separately as it did before we
ever began. At the same time it is important that people do not
gain the impression that the day-to-day revenue raisers do not
need contributions, because capital is building up in the Kirsty
Appeal Fund. If we allowed that Fund to be used up in daily
running costs, we would inevitably fail to meet the purpose for
which it was begun and, sooner or later, another financial crisis
would arise similar to that which saw the Hospice threatened
with closure in three months. We cannot and will not allow that
to happen.

50
WINNING WAYS

Woman’s Own Child of Courage – 3 December 2001

The Woman’s Own Children of Courage Awards are given
annually to all kinds of children who have shown great bravery.
Many have performed acts of extraordinary heroism, others
have endured pain and suffering as a result of disability or
illness, while some have selflessly devoted their young lives to
caring for members of their family.
After two years of nominating Kirsty, we were delighted
when she was chosen, to be recognised at the 28th Children of
Courage Awards ceremony at Westminster Abbey. Here was
another big occasion, another goal for Kirsty to look forward to.
It got even better – Victoria, who had been entranced by
Kirsty at the Ball, was kind enough to agree to come and
support her.
On the day before the award ceremony, the children were
given the opportunity to meet a real prince at Buckingham
Palace! The heir to the throne met the award winners and gave
Kirsty a copy of a book he had written. Now, Kirsty is not fazed
by anyone, including Prince Charles. He had been kneeling
down for about five minutes talking to her and had started to
read the book aloud, when she turned round to the future King
of England and said simply ‘I have had enough of you.
Goodbye’. He laughed and walked off leaving Steve, Kirsty’s
Dad, wishing that ‘the ground would swallow him up’.
The following day everyone watched Kirsty walk up with
Victoria to collect her Child of Courage accolade at the Abbey
ceremony. After the reception we made our way to a fabulous
party in the House of Commons on the Thames embankment.
Victoria, her parents and Brooklyn joined Steve, Lynn, Zoe and
Kim. There were celebrities from all the TV shows that we love,
pop singers, presenters, sport stars and Father Christmas. Phil
and I tucked ourselves away on a small table next to Gary
Rhodes. The party ended, but the excitement did not. The next

51
morning’s Press was phenomenal and tremendously helpful to
the Appeal.

4 January 2002 – Harrods’ Sale

At the beginning of 2002 Kirsty had another date to keep with
Victoria Beckham. Our great patron, Mr Al Fayed, had invited
Kirsty and Victoria to open the Harrods’ Sale.
Early in the morning, when we arrived at Harrods Door 10,
there were already hundreds of people around the store. We felt
sorry for the opera singer, Lesley Garrett who, like a true
professional, went out to deliver arias at 9:00 a.m. on a freezing
winter’s day, while we were taken through to the area behind
the side doors ready for the opening.
As Lesley Garrett finished her songs to rapturous applause,
Victoria Beckham was arriving in a splendid horse-drawn
carriage. We came out and the photographers went bananas as I
handed Kirsty to Victoria, who looked amazing. She was
dressed all in white like a Snow Queen; a seductive camisole
beneath a trouser suit with a long coat and beautiful white
leather gloves. We made so many column inches in the
subsequent papers; from Birmingham to Ipswich there were
full pictures dedicated to the Hospice cause and us.
Mr Al Fayed’s ex-Personal Assistant, Belinda White, and
current PA Lisa Escasany were both a joy to know and work
alongside, and they both loved calling us with great news. Good
news always meant money, whether it came in a one-off
amount from Mr Al Fayed himself or from one of the many
visitors to the store who, after meeting its owner and seeing
Kirsty’s picture, signed a cheque before leaving.
It still makes me smile to remember Kirsty, a vulnerable little
girl from Northern Moor, opening Harrods’ Sale alongside its
distinguished owner and the nation’s highest profile female
celebrity. For Kirsty, the adventure went on.

The Office
After a year I decided I would quite like to have dinner at my
own kitchen table, so Philip and I moved our office to Oxford
Road, an old knitting shop. The spec, one large room, revolting
cellar, kitchen and outside toilet – we know how to live!

52
 Jan and Steve Bruce were refurbishing their home and,
luckily for us, they gave us some fabulous office furniture as
they were moving house. As BA were relocating to Didsbury,
our friend David Preston offered us the opportunity to go to
choose some more. I think he was surprised how much we took
– including a draughtsman’s set of drawers! So we were ready
for work.
People imagine that we run a charity from a plush office
and we have all the different functions at our command: PR
Department, Marketing Department, Creative Department,
Volunteer Department, Accounts Department, Human
Resources Department – our office is best described as
inhuman resources as there has only ever been Phil and I and
one other person in the office, whether it be Janet, Louise or our
very select volunteers, Sue France or Trish Davies. In our office,
you have to be all things for all people
We have kept every paper in which Kirsty has appeared,
every magazine, every letter that has been sent and we try our
very best to acknowledge all donations within a few days. We
have crammed into this modest space money-counting
machines, lost property, boxes and boxes of wristbands,

Phil and Susie.

53
badges, toys, tee shirts, CDs, DVDs, all merchandising material
for the charity.
The office has of course played host to numerous celebrities
– Roy Keane, Gary Pallister, Steve Bruce, Emma Atkins, Samia
Ghadie, Bryan Robson – but, most important, we have the royal
visit from her ladyship Kirsty. She answers the phones and
plays solitaire. Before we gained the services of Tony Dixon,
Kirsty’s hairdresser, I used to wash her hair in our kitchen sink.
To keep the tubes clear she would have to lie on the draining
board with her legs kicking the kitchen roll.

Pride of Britain – March 2002

The Pride of Britain Awards celebrate the lives and
achievements of remarkable individuals. So the invitation we
received in 2002 to be part of it was another great honour for
Kirsty.
We were all called to make the official photograph at the
ceremony in London, which was to appear in the next day’s

Kirsty waves to the Press at the entrance to the Hilton Hotel, Park Lane,
London before the Pride of Britain Awards, 5 March 2002. (DM)

54
Celebrities surround Kirsty at the Pride of Britain Awards. (DM)

Joan Collins meets Kirsty at the Hilton. (DM)

55
Daily Mirror. Kirsty was placed in the centre on the bottom step
and it was wonderful to watch Joan Collins, Cilla Black, Richard
Branson and others equally famous crowding around, eager to
be pictured next to her!
I charged down between several tables to take Kirsty’s
oxygen cylinder as Carol Vorderman announced our special
little girl. The ramp was not easy to manage and the audience
was extremely quiet, but then there was a huge cheer as Kirsty
slowly walked to centre stage. For family and friends there is
always a little apprehension at moments like these, in case the
youngster is overawed, but no-one needed to worry.
‘How much money do you need to raise, Kirsty?’ asked
Carol.
Kirsty dutifully replied ‘Fifty million pounds.’ The audience
fell apart.

Kirsty, Star of Television

Who would have ever believed five years ago when the Appeal
began that our little Leading Lady could create enough interest
to warrant so much television coverage?

Kirsty with her wristbands.

56
 We graduated from odd slots on digital programmes, to
obscure magazine pieces, progressing on to local news and
then amazingly the national news. Kirsty has made headlines
around the world, culminating in the big one. . . Kirsty’s
Millions.
After an initial meeting with Paul Stead from Daisybeck
Productions, we made a short taster film of Kirsty’s story, in an
effort to interest a TV company. It worked beyond our dreams,
because the BBC commissioned a one-hour documentary. We all
wanted something special, taking a sensitive, intimate, ‘butterfly
on the wall’ approach to what would still be a hard-hitting

England rugby star Jonny Wilkinson presents Kirsty with the

Helen Rollinson Award, while Gary Lineker looks on, at the Sports
Personality of the Year awards, 12 December 2004. (RK BBC PO)

57
documentary. The team at Daisybeck formed a very special
relationship with the staff and the families of the Hospice.
Because of their discretion they managed to capture on film real
people in real life situations. Anyone who watched Kirsty’s
Millions could not help but understand the necessity of securing
lasting funding for children’s hospices.
Kirsty’s was only one of the stories that featured in the
programme but, because of her huge profile, it was Kirsty’s
story that sold it to the BBC. There was a couple of occasions
when we nearly pulled out prior to filming, as I resisted their
requests to follow the Howard family’s private life because,
although Lynn and Steve have always been happy to let Kirsty
front the campaign as long as she enjoyed it, they wanted to
keep the rest of the family free from intrusion.
Life during that period was totally crazy, because we were
still doing all the normal day and night stuff but now we
were being filmed doing it. Several months later Paul Stead
invited me to see the first cut and, for the first time, I heard Sue
Johnston’s brilliant voiceover. it was a proud programme,
beautifully filmed and produced. Amazingly enough it was
screened on the same day as The BBC’s Sports Personality of the
Year, in which Kirsty already had a starring role, as she was
presented with the Helen Rollinson Award for Courage against
Adversity.

Trafford Centre
The most difficult part in raising such a large amount of money
is keeping up the momentum. The Trafford Centre has played a
huge part from 2003–06 in fundraising. After two years of trying
to gain help from the Trafford Centre, it was in 2003 that I
received a positive call from Kate Holland and, following that,
an even more positive meeting. For the first time in the Trafford
Centre’s history, they had decided to support one cause.
The first element of fundraising was via the beautiful
fountains placed here, there and everywhere in the Centre.
Half a million footfall per week ensures lots of visitors,
especially children, many of whom would love to make a
wish and throw in a coin. Not unreasonably all Centres that
allow their fountains to be used for fundraising do so on the

58
 The joys of coin-cleaning – left to right: Sue France, Janet Henderson,
Susie, Louise Blenkharn and Trish Davies. (TD)

clear understanding that the charity has to clean and count the
coins. It is amazing how, from all the volunteers who are very
happy to attend the balls and high profile events, there have
been only a small core of genuine stalwarts that have stuck with
us through that grimy, laborious cleaning of coins: stand up
Louise Blenkharn, Sue France, Trish Davies and Janet
Henderson!
It is very important at this juncture to make clear how
thrilled we were to be the beneficiaries of the Trafford Centre;
they have given us enormous help and co-operation and have
raised over £100,000 towards our goal. There were numerous
events but the biggest by far was to coincide with the
Spiderman film launch. It just so happened that we had
zillions of Spiderman badges, so the retailers supporting the
Trafford Centre fundraising appeal sold them on our behalf and
Janet set up her usual conveyer-belt routine, and took charge of
all collections.
The big day came and, to draw attention to our spectacular
opening, to take place in the afternoon, we persuaded the
Trafford Centre window-cleaner to climb up onto the roof

59
Kirsty with Coronation Street’s Sam Aston, promoting the Spiderman
badge launch, 12 July 2004. (MEN)

dressed as Spiderman. Then Louise, Phil and I rang all the radio
stations and newspapers, pretending that we were just
members of the general public driving past and saying
‘There’s a Spiderman on top of the Trafford Centre, do you
know why?’
Most people thought it was Fathers for Justice doing their
usual sort of stunt but of course, later that day they realised it was
‘Children’s Hospices for Justice’, campaigning for their survival.
There was mass TV coverage. The leading man in a stunning
lycra costume abseiled to the sound of the Spiderman theme,
and the customers in the Orient gasped as celebrity after
celebrity walked on stage. Simon Gregson, although not
upstaged, was joined by Spiderman look-alike, Avid Merrion,
and a host of celebrities.

Switching on Blackpool lights with Ronan Keating

In the summer of 2002, Kirsty’s health had taken a downward
spiral and she was referred back to Wythenshawe again, where
she was diagnosed with gout. She was transferred to Booth Hall

60
with her knees swollen and her little limbs really struggling to
move enough for her to walk.
There have been so many times when Kirsty has been
admitted to hospital and each and every such episode remains
heart-wrenching, but this particular period was particularly
difficult. Gout, being a new complaint for Kirsty requiring
different treatment, she had been taken into a different hospital
on the other side of Manchester. When I finally found her room
she was sitting on her little bed looking extremely lethargic. I
took some crazy toys for her but unusually, she did not respond
at all; she moaned about the food and was just not happy.
I asked what I could do to make her feel a bit better. What
would it take to make a difference? After a little sad-faced
pause, she replied ‘Ronan Keating’. I should not have been
surprised at all as Ronan has always been her favourite pop star
and his I Love You Best When You Say Nothing at All is Kirsty’s
song. She has sung her rendition at every occasion we have ever
had, in some instances 20 or 30 times in one night! She simply
adored both man and song. I told her that for me to succeed in
arranging for her to meet Ronan, she would need to be
discharged from the hospital so she had to start working on
getting better. I then went back to the office and started to phone
the Ronan Keating camp.
I learned that Ronan was to switch on the famous lights at
Blackpool on Friday 30 August 2002. I got hold of his
Management Office, who seemed thrilled at the prospect of
involving Kirsty, and said that they would get back to me. I then
spoke to the Blackpool organisers of the lights and they were
ecstatic at the idea.
It was all going so well until I had a heavy conversation with
the producer at Radio 2 who was covering the event; he was not
pleased at all. There were some tough exchanges, that made me
feel that I might have to give up on the idea, before Mr Producer
realised that disappointing such a special child might lead to
bad publicity. I admit it was nothing short of emotional
blackmail but they changed their minds. Phew – that was a
close one!
True to form at 3:00 p.m. on Friday 30 August, Kirsty was
discharged and in a taxi on her way to my house. I had the outfit

61
Kirsty joins Ronan Keating, to switch on the famous Blackpool lights on
30 August 2002. (MEN)

all ready. I washed her hair and got her changed, put a bit of
sparkle in her eyes (we girls need a bit of sparkle) and off we
went.
Roger the Dodger took us to Blackpool and we arrived on the
sea-front, driving through the huge cordoned-off areas to base
camp, where the switch-on was to take place. Our timing was
impeccable because, as I got out of the car holding Kirsty in my
arms, who was the first person we saw ? – Ronan Keating.
He looked at Kirsty and said,
‘Are you going to switch these lights on with me?’
Kirsty was in complete and utter shock but managed to reply
‘Yes, yes.’
While we awaited our call, the show’s whole entourage
made their way over to our Winnebago dressing room, to meet
Beckham’s Angel. The Sugababes were just sweet and lovely,
though Kirsty did not know a Sugababe from a jelly babe – she
has never been very impressed with females.

62
 We could hear the crowd getting louder and louder, with
plenty of screams for Ronan and the others. Darius popped in to
say hello while I put some lip-gloss on Kirsty’s tiny blue lips.
Holding the oxygen, I was led to the side of the stage and sat
with Kirsty on my lap as I have done so many times, happy with
the feel of her little body, waiting in anticipation for that special
moment. Ronan sang, exciting the crowd and building up to the
all-important switch-on. Then he proudly introduced Kirsty
and I passed her from my arms to his, confident that he would
take good care of her. Kirsty was so happy.
They started the countdown and the crowd roared. 10 9 8 7 6
5 4 3 2 (cue fireworks) then ONE. We hadn’t been warned about
the fireworks, so they came as a bit of a shock for Kirsty, but she
was exhilarated by the moment and, as the switch-on went over
the airwaves and was witnessed in the homes of millions, so she
achieved yet another special goal.
Ronan handed her back to me and Kirsty whispered in my
ear,
‘Oh my God, I’ll never sleep tonight for thinking about
Ronan Keating.’
The fireworks continued to light up the skies of Blackpool as
we travelled in Roger the Dodger’s people carrier back to
Manchester but, most important, not back to the hospital.

63
BIRTHDAYS AND ANGEL BALLS

Russell Watson and Kirsty’s seventh birthday,

Friday 20 September 2002
One day towards the autumn of 2002 I had a message to
telephone someone called Perry Hughes. I made the call and
this incredibly enthusiastic, excitable character told me that he
was Russell Watson’s manager and that Russell was interested
in making a record in aid of the Kirsty Appeal.
I had met Russell himself several years previously, when our
events company was arranging the Ciao Italia Ball, a prestigious
gathering to celebrate the restaurateurs of Manchester. It was
setting-up time and Phil and I were working on the table names
and spacing, when a young man appeared and asked if he could
sing that evening. He was a persuasive young man and, once I
had listened to him, I realised he would stop the show, for it was
the most beautiful sound and delivered with such confidence.
That night the standing ovation went on forever and you just
knew he was going to be a star.
It was even suggested at one time that I might become
Russell’s manager so I had been thrilled to see his promise
fulfilled as he climbed the ladder over the next years. Now here
was an opportunity to have a great operatic star singing for our
campaign.
Perry told me that Russell had been working on a song
called Is Nothing Sacred. He said it was originally intended as
a song about love lost but, since seeing Kirsty at the opening
ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, each time he and
Russell had listened to the song they could not get Kirsty out
of their minds. Enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm and, though
both our diaries looked full, we managed to meet that very
day at the car park of the Belfry House Hotel and by 12:30 I
found myself in the passenger seat of Perry’s posh car,
listening to the song. By the end of the first chorus we both
had tears in our eyes. In another ten minutes Perry had

64
Patron Russell Watson and Coronation Street’s Liz Dawn join Kirsty
to celebrate £2milion on 12 March 2003. (MEN)

phoned Universal Records and we had the first meeting

arranged in London.
This was an enormous boost for the Kirsty Appeal. Not
only was Russell Watson ready to make a Christmas Song for
Kirsty for no fee whatsoever, but he also quickly proved a
wonderful ambassador for our cause. In the build-up weeks to
our release, he did the tour of Des & Mel, Gloria Hunniford and
the rest, speaking glowingly of Kirsty and scathingly of the
Government and all the negativity surrounding children’s
hospices.
It was during this busy run-up to the song’s release in
December that BKR Haines Watts accountants were due to hold
their annual charity ball to support our Appeal and that event
coincided with Kirsty’s seventh birthday on 20 September.
Given the medical prognosis some three years earlier, it always
seemed something of a minor miracle when we celebrated
Kirsty spending another year among us. So, despite the heavy

65
schedule running up to the record release, Perry Hughes
worked wonders to arrange for Russell to come along to the
great event and actually meet Kirsty for the first time.
Mere Golf and Country Club was the venue for this birthday
ball and Kirsty was resplendent in purple, a beautiful dress
made by Sarah at Lucy Lockets. As we sat after dinner at a table
which looked through to reception, we saw a door swing open
to admit Russell, looking totally immaculate. It really brought
home to me what a great career he had forged.
With Russell and Perry came the security guards, holding
the biggest parcel you have ever seen, all wrapped in a huge
bow. In it was a present I knew Kirsty would love; a massive,
sugar pink, Barbie car. After introducing Kirsty, so that
everyone could sing Happy Birthday, and making my
accustomed speech about her and the Appeal, I had the
pleasure of inviting Russell to sing. The audience was thrilled
and I knew from Kirsty’s reaction to Russell that he was
definitely going into her top ten list. The cameras flashed, the
Barbie car was presented and that was the last we saw of
Kirsty’s legs that night as she never got out of the car for the rest
of the evening. I played Russell’s song for the first time and the
audience gave its resounding approval, so it was fingers crossed
for a Christmas hit for Kirsty.

Angel Ball – 7 December 2002

The week from the 1st to the 7th of December went down
without doubt as the busiest, most manic seven days in my life.
Plans for the Angel Ball always begin several months prior to
the event but, that year, they were kick-started about eight
months before by a phone call from Louis Vuitton, saying that
they wanted to help the Kirsty Appeal by having the Ball
coincide with the launch of their first branch of Selfridges in
Manchester. Can you imagine how exciting that was? I
practically somersaulted on my way to the first of an
exhausting series of meetings with PR companies, Louis
Vuitton local, Louis Vuitton London, structure hire, safety,
security and the rest.
I had wanted to use the Lowry Hotel and catering facilities
for both events but it was eventually agreed to use a site stage

66
right of the hotel, on some waste ground, with the agreement of
the developers who had already bought it. The Louis Vuitton
launch would be on Wednesday 4 December and the Third
Angel Ball would follow three nights later. This proved to be a
big mistake
When Phil and I arrived on Thursday morning immediately
after the first event, we found that everything that had made
that place special had already been ripped out and was making
its way into the nearest lorry. Now, when you consider that the
whole thing was sold to us as a fantastic venue for our Angel
Ball, just two days away, we had to face the fact that we had a
massive problem and were facing potential disaster and a lot
of unexpected cost. The star cloth to fill the huge structure,
and make it look something like the stunning venue we had
promised, alone cost £10,000. Thankfully Louis Vuitton covered
the payment. Sleep was out of the question for the next two
nights as we worked to rescue the situation with the help of Lin
and Jon Pimblett and several others.
Even a few hours before the actual Ball, the heating was not
working and, believe me, it was freezing. But the show must go on
and it did, though unscheduled dramas, like video screens not
working, went on as well. The moment that saved it for me
personally was when Russell got up to sing. He was spectacular
that night; absolutely amazing. Kirsty looked adorable. We
were engulfed by celebrities and everyone was completely
overawed by the beauty created within our ‘fairytale structure’.
Rescuing the Ball had cost a lot, but it brought in much more. At
£100,000 it was the most we had ever raised at one event,
boosted enormously by the fantastic and overwhelming
generosity of our celebrities and our audience combined.
Not everyone is impressed by the fuss made about people
who are famous but, for fundraisers, celebrities often make
the difference between success and failure, because everyone
likes to say ‘Oooooooh , guess who was there!’. On this
night, however, it meant more for us than that. We had whole
cast of Waking the Dead and, through Sue Johnston, they had
offered an auction prize – two people to go along during
filming, meet the cast, have lunch and to be in the production as
extras.

67
 As Michael Edwards Hammond, who held the auction for us
that day, was nearing £10,000 for this lot, Claire Goose came
running up to me and said that a business had made a firm
commitment to double the amount if we could give the prize
twice! So Waking the Dead had brought an easy £20,000 towards
our target. (When I say ‘easy’ it certainly seems so in the
excitement of a moment of fundraising triumph, although in
reality the visits still had to be organised and it was over a year
before both parties had claimed their prizes.)
The Ball was a great success, but the days leading up to it
had been so horrendous that I think both we and the
management of The Lowry couldn’t wait to see the back of
the marquee.

£2 Million Party – 12 March 2003

Another goal was in sight – a very exciting one at that. We now
had £2 million in the bank and we needed a celebration.
Looking back, it is amazing to think of all the things that had
happened between the £1 million celebration and that day when
we celebrated the second. We decided to ask Mike Prophet at
the Ambelhurst to support us, and by goodness he did. He
organised everything. The makeover for Kirsty was duly
arranged and this time it was a fantastic white velvet dress
with little pearls.
The national press was still convinced that David Beckham
was going to make a surprise appearance. There was a frenzy of
photographers waiting hopefully for the end of the speech to
introduce Kirsty. The world’s newspapers had turned up, the
BBC and ITV had brought television cameras and they were all
clearly disappointed that their main prey had escaped them,
despite all our previous efforts to tell them that he would not be
there. However, Russell Watson came and so did our own
adorable Liz Dawn.
Kirsty was flabbergasted looking into Liz’s face and kept
saying,
‘I don’t believe Vera’s here’.
By now she had met many celebrities, but seeing Vera in the
flesh was definitely a jaw-dropping experience for little Kirsty.
Another of her Coronation Street heroes arrived later in the

68
afternoon; Kevin Kennedy was in his last few months of playing
Curly Watts. Kirsty was presented with some lovely gifts
that day. Russell bought her a guitar and microphone and Kevin
and Kirsty kept us entertained as the guests were beginning to
leave.
We all then sat and watched the coverage of the afternoon
and it was excellent We made both the evening news
programmes and lots of locals but this time the nationals did
not bother to carry the story, so there were a lot of wasted man
hours for those photographers. It is a strange world that it
should not be ‘news’ when a tiny, terminally ill little girl has
raised £2 million pounds and yet it would be news if someone
famous drops by for the celebration.

Angel in a Red Dress

Kirsty’s Angel Balls have become the most prestigious event in
our annual calendar, and the majority of the guests rebook year
on year. It has always been very important to make each
celebration of Kirsty’s birthday unique. The organisation and
search for the next year’s venue begins almost immediately we
close the book on the previous year’s. The search for prizes
attractive enough to raise a vast amount of money, and the
artists who are well-known enough and generous enough to
give their services free of charge, the sponsorship, the seating,
the table prizes, linen, flowers, lighting and all technical add-
ons have all been arranged through our tiny little office and our
sensational team of three – Louise, Sue and Janet. On the actual
day of the event, we are fortunate to have lots of help from our
close friends and, my goodness, by that time the extra hands are
needed.
The 2003 Ball was at the Belfry in a Mahood Marquee. As the
celebration was Kirsty’s actual birthday, she had her very own
pantomime and, without any prior knowledge, she was called
upon to join the cast and become the Princess. Richard
Fleeshman, not then known for his wonderful voice, sang You
Look Wonderful Tonight to Kirsty. She gazed into his eyes and the
entire audience melted, except me!
I was in a high state of excitement waiting for the space
beside me to be filled by, wait for it, Hugh Grant. Michael

69
Edwards Hammond, the auctioneer, was sure that, along with
Nicholas Hoult, who starred with Hugh in About A Boy, the star
was going to join us and also offer a prize for the auction – the
rare opportunity to speak a line with Hugh in the next Bridget
Jones film. Guess what? He didn’t come; in fact he didn’t know
anything about it!
Thankfully I had not told the press in advance and, luckily
for us, the person who paid £7,000 to be an extra was one of our
Patrons, Paul Beck – phew!
Since that year each and every Angel Ball and all Kirsty
celebrations have featured the most beautiful cakes made and
donated by our friends, Lin and Jon Pimblett. These have taken
pride of place as they are works of art; fairy castles, carousels,
angels – each personalised with exquisite little crystals.
The venue for 2004 was an obvious choice as we had the
brand new five-star Radisson Edwardian opening in
Manchester and a close friend, Adam Evanson, had now
moved from the Radisson SAS (where we had held the Ball in
2002) to the new Manchester venue. Granada TV was making a
new series of documentaries called Big Night Out and so our
efforts to organise this Ball were closely followed by the TV
crews. Obviously, when you have a lens pointed at you 24 hours
a day it heightens the tension, but they were a small team and
good to work with.
As the Ball was being televised, we wanted some special
entertainment and, with the help of Russell Watson’s ex-
manager Perry Hughes, and through the dealings we had with
the PR of the record company, we were totally blown away to
receive confirmation that Chris De Burgh would attend and
entertain for Kirsty. There were no riders; he was as charming
as he was talented and the audience lapped up his effortless
professionalism. Then he announced:
‘Ladies and Gentlemen! We have a very special little girl
here this evening and I would like to sing this song for her.’
This obviously sounds as if it had been well-planned and
scheduled but in actual fact, Kirsty and I had just rushed up to
the bedroom, so that I could change her from her pink ball gown
into her red dress.

70
 As the introduction began, Kirsty joined Chris on stage and
sat next to him on the piano stool and when he began – I’ve never
seen you looking so lovely as you did tonight – there was not a dry
eye in the audience. By the end of this Ball, Mark Rix had made
his decision to get a Manchester Evening News team to climb
Mount Kilimanjaro.
A lovely moment in the auction was when one of our
patrons, Dr Harold Riley, announced a special auction prize of a
little picture of Kirsty together with a poem about her as shown
below. In the face of hot competition the final bid went to Chris
de Burgh. He took hold of the microphone and said that there
was only one place that this picture belonged and that was with
her Mum and Dad. That sure was a Big Night Out.
The following poem features Harold’s words to accompany
Kirsty’s portrait.

I remember her in the little garden

behind her house she was tiny but in
spite of her illness she didn’t seem frail
her heart was enormous and the charisma
of her being shone out of her
all fathers who have a daughter make
a special bond with their little girl
Kirsty it seems has made a bond with god
to help take the pain away from
other children who are suffering
she is every father’s daughter
and god’s little angel on earth.

The record – Is Nothing Sacred Anymore?

We awoke on Sunday 8 December, exhilarated by the money we
had raised, but extremely bleary-eyed after the Angel Ball and
the effort of making it happen. Roger arrived with the people-
carrier and we headed off to pick up Kirsty, Steve and Lynn
from Northern Moor and started off for London because the
record launch was scheduled for the very next day.
By now the concierge at the Hyde Park residence in Park
Lane knew all the ins and outs of accommodating Kirsty. We
made our way once again to one of Mr Al Fayed’s stunning

71
 Music legend Chris de Burgh with the little lady in red –
the Angel Ball of 2004 at the Radisson Edwardian, Manchester. (MEN)

apartments, and relaxed for an early night as the morning call

was for 8:30 a.m. When you consider the number of things that
have to happen as part of a Kirsty makeover, this actually meant
a 7 a.m. start at the latest, which is really early for her. As always
we were met at entrance door 10 and taken to Mr Al Fayed’s
private office.
Harrods had provided a beguiling little red velvet dress
and Kirsty looked every bit the Christmas sugar-plum fairy.

72
Almost as soon as we went into the boardroom, cameramen and
stills photographers were grabbing shots of Kirsty, our host
and Russell. Mr Al Fayed’s pipers headed our entourage as
we made our way through the Georgian ballrooom to a
fabulous set with the Harrods logo, the record’s logo and the
Kirsty logo.
Even at that early hour there was an exciting buzz in the air,
and the room was packed with a crowd of press, TV reporters
and fans of Russell and Kirsty. Among the audience was Don
Black, the famous writer of so many favourite songs from
musical shows, and co-writer on INSAM – I thought to myself,
I hope he is going to waive his percentage.
As Russell introduced Kirsty and explained why we were
there I saw Nina Nannar and also thought, ‘Bloody hell, I hope
we get News at Ten again!’
Kirsty – centre stage – full of her own special magnetism.
Russell – stage left – and a room full of enthusiastic people. As
the backing track began and Russell started to sing, Kirsty never
took her eyes off him. What he did not know was that Kirsty had
driven us bananas by learning the whole song, which she duly
mimed until Russell put the microphone in front of her.
Perfectly in tune, she sang along with him. After I had said a few
words about the charity and of course expressed my
appreciation to Russell and Mr Al Fayed, we moved on to the
record department where a huge queue of people was waiting
to get Russell’s and Kirsty’s autographs. The two of them
seemed equally popular with the fans but it was marvellous to
see Kirsty sitting there, talking to everybody, thinking she was
one of the Spice Girls.
Kirsty had always enjoyed the limelight and meeting so
many famous people but being so closely involved in an actual
record launch was a new treat for her and one made more
special by the generosity of the artist involved. When we made
the video for the record promotion, Kirsty was more heavily
featured than Russell so there was no ego to be massaged there.
He showed a full appreciation of Kirsty’s own star status and
was prepared to go all the way for this song.
Success in the music industry depends on so many factors
and nothing is certain. Christmas records in particular are a bit

73
of a lottery; the most promising song may sink like a stone and,
as soon as the festivities are over, demand for the record ceases.
Is Nothing Sacred any More was certainly no disaster, though it
never quite made the dizzy heights we thought it deserved. The
single got to Number 23, we made £40,000 for the Appeal and
gained an awful lot of profile along the way.
The icing on the cake for the song and for all of us was
Russell’s concert at the Manchester Evening News Arena on 21
December when Kirsty was invited to join him as he sang to her.
I left Kirsty on the stage and watched her little face on the big
screens around the arena. There was a huge ovation, which
confirmed the swell of love people felt for Kirsty, while
recognising the kindness they saw in the man who had put so
much effort into supporting her and her cause.

74
GREAT MANCHESTER RUNS

In November 2002 I received a phone call from a stranger called

David Hart and agreed to meet him, little knowing that we were
at the beginning of a great local and national event; an event,
furthermore, in which Kirsty and our Appeal would have a
major role to play.
David was Communications Director for Nova International
and the topic was a ten kilometre run to take place the following
May. Kirsty could hardly walk, let alone run, but her presence
and profile had kept the Manchester City Council (MCC)
supporting our campaign and they had chosen Kirsty’s Appeal
as the nominated charity for the Great Manchester Run. But of
course there was an implicit quid pro quo. As in everything to do
with fundraising, you ‘don’t get owt for nowt’ and David was
keen to tap into our celebrity contact database.
The meeting room overlooked Albert Square and it was
bland and cold, but running off the back of the enormous
success of the Commonwealth Games and also my background
in the earlier Piccadilly Radio marathons, David’s words
sparked my enthusiasm and we soon shared the same vision.
Seeing enormous possibilities, I met with Russ Vine and his
team at Cheetham Bell and discussed how we could promote
the run. The main point was to recruit as many runners as
possible, while convincing people this could be fun. We decided
we needed a TV ad to achieve maximum exposure but had no
money to make one; so we had to find it. LBM generously
agreed and Cheetham Bell recruited the team that would make
the ad for next to nothing.
We all agreed our first choice to star in the advert would be
the very popular Charity Dingle from Emmerdale (Emma
Atkins). Emma agreed straight away and we had to recruit
two others to co-star as a pantomime horse. We were blatantly
copying the Nike advert, where the ’bus splashes the runners. I
have known Anthony Prophet since he was five, he adored
Kirsty, and when I asked him if he wanted to star in a TV advert

75
for her he was overwhelmed. . . for about two seconds, until he
realised that he would be the back part of a pantomime horse.
Oh and could he possibly recruit the front half as well?! This
part went to Ged Hall.
Filming took place in the centre of Manchester and the
streets were cleared of traffic. The director was shouting
through his megaphone – ACTION. You would have to see
the ad to believe it, but Emma, Anthony and the whole crew
worked until dusk, ending up on location in a park in Prestwich
where poor Emma and the boys were shattered; wet, dirty but
exhilarated.
Even with the ad, we didn’t have the infrastructure to
manage either the runners or the sponsorship on such a huge
scale but, with us handling the press build-up and the fact that
we were able to bring on board Bryan Robson, Samia Ghadie,
the Chief Constable of Manchester, Mike Todd, and many more
to promote a run that was then unknown, Nova was highly
delighted to find it had 10,000 runners.

Stars of Emmerdale support Kirsty at the Great Manchester Run of

26 May 2003 – left to right: Jeff Hordley, Charlotte Belling, Emma Atkins,
and Tony Audenshaw. (MEN)

76
First Great Manchester Run – Monday 26 May 2003
For the night before this first run, David had booked us into
the Jury’s Inn, where many of the athletes were also staying.
As they arrived, a disabled athlete pointed out that Kirsty’s
cumbersome wheelchair was far from adequate to take part in
something like this. I felt really embarrassed and made a
mental note; must get turbo-charged, designer, streamlined
wheelchair with go faster stripes for next year – pale pink if
possible.
The weather was beautiful for the Bank Holiday and Kirsty
was delivered to my door for the normal makeover. I had all her
running gear placed out on the bed. She was a bit grumpy, as
always first thing in the morning but, after a couple of
sausages and a cup of tea, we left to make our way with
David Hart, who was well enamoured with Kirsty by now, to
the starting point. The atmosphere in Manchester that day
was electrifying. The juniors lined up and the compère was
telling the eager crowd all about Kirsty. But, when the
starting pistol went off, hundreds of children zoomed past,
leaving Kirsty in her old-fashioned low-tech wheelchair to
come last in the race.
That first year, the ending of the 10 km senior race was
killing, as it was uphill entering GMEX. Everyone was
knackered and the cameras caught those pained expressions
but, on reaching the finishing line, who was in front of the
crowd to cheer all the runners? Kirsty.
Bryan Robson has probably still not forgiven me for his
swollen knee, although I did do my best with ice cubes. Steve
Bruce joined Bryan for the TV interviews, along with Samia
Ghadie and from Emmerdale – Emma Atkins, Charlotte Bellamy,
Tony Audenshaw, Chris Chittel, and Jeff Hordley.
This was a huge success for Manchester, huge profile for the
run and for the Appeal, but must do better next year.

The Second Run

Next year came soon enough and I was determined this time to
make some money for the Appeal. My meetings with David
started in the November. David spoke to Vicki Rosin from MCC
and made sure they were going to continue to support us. This

77
 Peter Schmeichel, Kirsty and Coronation Street’s canine Schmeichel
start the 2004 Great Manchester Run. (MEN)

meant that when applications came in with Kirsty’s box ticked,

Janet could add them to the database.
I also arranged a meeting with Alan Grant at NTL, along
with a representative from NOVA, to discuss sponsorship.
It seemed perfect. NTL was going to sponsor the Kirsty
Appeal on the run and we would receive tee-shirts for all our
runners; but the reality turned out far from what we intended.
NTL part-sponsored the actual race and the money we thought
would be for us was swallowed up in the main sponsorship
deal – so guess what? No tee-shirts again. So after words with
David Hart, NOVA themselves agreed to supply tee-shirts for
our runners. It was a good job it did not rain that day as it would
have turned into the biggest see-through, wet tee-shirt
competition Manchester has ever known.
Janet, our secretary, applied her usual common sense and
got us all placed in a production line to fold tee-shirts, print

78
sponsorship forms, stuff envelopes, add labels, stick stamps, cut
fingers. . . paper cuts hurt , we know, thanks Janet!
Meanwhile David Hart’s appetite for celebrities had not
slackened. After last year he and his office had named me the
celebrity thief so I wasn’t about to prove him wrong.
At that time Coronation Street’s canine star was Schmeichel, a
Great Dane. The stunning acting qualities of little Sam Aston as
Chesney were heightened by the casting of this beautiful dog.
I had known Peter Schmeichel, the goalkeeper, for many years
and my instinct for a great PR story was to bring together
Schmeichel the man and Schmeichel the dog, making Two Great
Danes. Peter agreed and then came a first for me, approaching a
dog agent! It took one phone call and a great press story
awaited. David Hart was satisfied for another day.
Day-to-day events were being filmed for the BBC’s
documentary, Kirsty’s Millions, and so the morning of the race
was even more terrifying. Louise stayed with me at the hotel the

Kirsty holds hands with her very grown-up boyfriend Richard Bowden,
whom she first met at the £1million celebration – here at the
Great Manchester Run in 2004. (MEN)

79
day before and Phil arrived as dawn broke. Kirsty and I went
through the same routine as last year but there were numerous
issues that Phil and Louise had to sort out because of the usual
jobsworths. Schmeichel the dog was stuck on the other side of
the City centre without a VIP entrance badge, so they would not
let him through the barriers!
Kirsty, meanwhile, had a headache and was only looking
forward to seeing the dog. Then Peter Schmeichel’s taxi failed to
turn up. There was a lot of shouting and arm-waving from
Louise and Philip till eventually things slipped into place and
Kirsty, in her new fancy wheelchair and again wearing
‘Number 1’, waited for the lift doors to open and the four-
legged Schmeichel to emerge.
The Great Dane emerged to a great flashing of cameras and
he was so enormous that Kirsty was a little apprehensive; he
was much bigger in real life than he seemed on a television
screen. We made our way to the starting line and met up with
Peter and Bente, his wife. The ‘two Schmeichels’ and Kirsty
posed for what was a front-page story before the race itself had
even begun.
Kirsty’s number one boyfriend, Richard Bowden, ran
alongside her down the cobbles on Coronation Street. But,
God bless her, even with the new wheelchair she still came
last.
It takes forever for people to collect the sponsorship, but we
knew within six weeks, that this was definitely going to be a
major fundraising event.

The Third Run

By its third year the Great Manchester Run (GMR) had become
literally a runaway success. NOVA could not keep up with the
overwhelming interest and had to close the applications. This
was the year when they decided to separate the junior from the
senior race.
Kirsty had become used to being at the centre of the event
and her excitement at wearing the much coveted ‘Number 1’
started to grow many months before the race. She actually
counts down the days to significant dates like these, as she also
does for her birthdays.

80
Kirsty doing what she does so well – promoting the Appeal with a radiant
smile and a mature confidence, at the production of Toystory at the
Manchester Evening News Arena. (MEN)
Kirsty talks to Prime Minister Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street in
February 2001. (MS P)
ABOVE: Victoria Beckham holds Kirsty at the 2001 Angel Ball,
at the Radisson SAS, Manchester Airport (MEN) while
BELOW: Kirsty flirts with her husband at the Lowry Hotel
four years later. (CG MEN)
The stars of Emmerdale support Kirsty in the Great Manchester Run of
May 2003 – left to right: Jeff Hordley, Charlotte Belling, Emma Atkins
and Tony Audenshaw. (MEN)
ABOVE: Kirsty and Susie celebrate £3 million at the Circle Club in
Manchester on 10 November 2004, joined BELOW: by an array of
celebrities, to celebrate another £ million a year later at the MICC,
G Mex, Manchester Angel Ball. (Both MEN)
Johnny Wilkinson presnts Kirsty with the Helen Rollinson Award at the
Sports Personality of the Year 12 December 2004. (RK BBC PO)
 ABOVE: The Manchester Evening News team at the summit of
Mt Kilimanjaro in August 2005 – left to right: Mark Rix, Paul Horrocks,
Phil Davenport, Dave Healey, Hervey Magnall, Phil Tonge, Ian Marshall
and Dave Rix. (MEN) BELOW: Kirsty recovers in hospital after her
relapse in July 2005. (SM for MEN)
Kirsty – Angel of Courage. (YFA)
 The Sue Johnston whom I had known for many years was
by this time a national celebrity. She had won the Comedy
Actress of the Year and the accolades for her success in
Waking The Dead and The Royle Family had elevated her to
stardom. After a few drinks one night, Sue agreed to run the
Great Manchester Run, despite the fact that she did not even
possess a pair of trainers. The plan was that she would train
methodically to build her strength up for the race – with her
work schedule she could scarcely fit in a jog, let alone build
up to 10 K training runs. Phil and I plotted how, if she was
exhausted, he might surreptitiously remove her from the
throng and place her at the end for the photo calls. Oh ye
of little faith! – Sue was triumphant. Phil ran alongside her
with his very full English breakfast, a few Silk Cuts, and a
raging hangover. The two of them romped to the finish line.
There was no prouder supporter that day than Sue’s son Joel,
watching with Louise and me from the viewing rostrum.
Looking back on the Junior race which, for the first time, took
place at the Manchester City Stadium, we were thrilled to have
the support of Coronation Street’s new star Antony Cotton,
whose role turned out to be greater than he was expecting. As
the crowd waited for Kirsty to take her place, proudly wearing
her ‘Number 1’ presented to her this year by David Beckham,
disaster struck! The wheelchair motor blew up. In all these
years, there have been very few occasions that I have seen Kirsty
cry, but on this occasion she was devastated. Everyone tried to
reconnect the wires but to no avail. Fabulous Antony Cotton
and Philip pushed her round the whole course so this time
Kirsty wasn’t last!

The Fourth Run

By the time we were planning GMR4, David Hart was fully
aware that we had established a relationship with Andrew
‘Freddie’ Flintoff so, not surprisingly, he was looking for
Freddie to start the race. Of course, that is exactly what I wanted
as well, but I was so aware of his busy schedule and he had
already committed support through his benefit year. I had
written to him but, with his match commitments and his
extraordinary, high-profile year, I fully understood that he

81
David Beckham and Kirsty at the third Great Manchester Run

David Beckham makes Kirsty laugh at the launch of the

Great Manchester Run of 2005. (CG MEN)

82
Cricket legend Freddie Flintoff joins Kirsty’s helpers at the 2006 Great
Manchester Run – left to right: Jan Plant, Carrie Picaethly, Trish Davies,
Freddie, Louise Blenkharn and Jenny Markey. (NI)

had not had time to reply. Every other day, I would get a text or
an e-mail from David and meanwhile put in place several back-
up plans.
I had firm commitments from many of the Coronation Street
stars, including Antony Cotton, who was progressing from the
Junior to the Big Boys race this year and had even been training.
Then once again, disaster struck. Owing to the wedding date of
one of the cast members, the annual soap awards were
rescheduled to film the night before the Great Manchester
Run and of course they are filmed in London. There was no way
I could expect Antony, Samia and their friends not to enjoy the
soap stars’ biggest night. They were all up for individual
awards, so we were back to an uncomfortably bare drawing
board.
At the eleventh hour, Freddie came up trumps for us and
agreed to start the Senior Race. We had succeeded once again in
bringing the sporting hero of the year to open the GMR! Owing
to its growing popularity, there were now a whopping 25,000

83
participants and I had expected Freddie just to start the first two
phases of the race, but instead he left the podium to join the
runners on the road. Our other rescuer was Kerry Katona.
Though Freddie had agreed to play his part, the loss of our
Coronation Street friends had deprived us of a celebrity to make
the local news and television; it is really important to find
someone willing and able to talk about the Appeal.
Suddenly I thought of Kerry; I had written previously
through her management company to ask for her support but
most management companies, seeing no commission in charity
work, do not bother to reply to such approaches. I felt there was
a chance of making contact as Kerry lived locally, and I
remembered seeing on local news programmes that she had
started a local taxi firm for women only. So I rang the Company,
asked if they could get a message through to Kerry and left my
phone number. I could not believe it – within 10 minutes she
rang. I asked her to start the Junior race and, once she had
looked at the next couple of days’ commitments, she rang back
and said that wonderful word – YES!
The previous three years, the GMR had been blessed by the
most beautiful weather. We had loved watching from our Jury
Inn bedroom window as Manchester came alive in the build-up
to the race. The cars are stopped at 6:30 a.m. so the route can be
prepared, the barriers appear, the men in yellow seem to swarm
at around 7:30 a.m. and, as the excitement builds, the sun has
grown stronger.
The rain was torrential. This was the first year we had high-
quality tee-shirts, sponsored by Joe Bloggs, but children and
adults alike had to cover themselves, and our logo!, in bin bags
in a vain attempt to keep dry. There must be a God because,
when Kirsty came out to take her place with Kerry, the rain just
stopped.
For me, the excitement of the GMR was greater when the
Junior and the Senior race took place on the same day. I never
felt that the separation worked and there has never been quite
the same atmosphere. Yet Kirsty was cheered regardless and
Kerry struck up an immediate empathy with her.
As in every other year, our compact, fantastic team all made
their way back to Jury’s Bar, awaiting our little star Kirsty.

84
Those were lovely times, reflecting on the race and appreciating
the enormity of the love and support from the spectators.
Unfortunately we knew that this would be the last time we
would be involved in quite this way. Since our target was in
sight, I knew that this would be our final Great Manchester Run
for the Kirsty Appeal. But even though the Kirsty Appeal was
coming to a close, it was fundamental that Manchester City
Council realised that the Hospice needed their continuing
support so, after the initial pre-run meetings this year, David
Hart arranged to bring Vicki Rosin from MCC to see Francis
House. Vicki, through David, had supported us tremendously,
even running the race for us herself; this year, her daughter and
her friends were going to be taking part in the Junior Run. The
ticks on the application form for the Kirsty Appeal were thanks
to them both, but it was important that Vicki visited the Hospice
and recognised that the support of the Council would still be
needed.
Long may the Great Manchester Run continue and, although
I am relieved not to have to be its celebrity thief anymore, I am
so proud of Manchester, the Great Manchester Run and most of
all of what Kirsty has achieved.

85
ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS

Facing Mortality: I didn’t plan for this

Thursday 23 December 2004 seemed a dull, routine kind of day
until the moment in the late afternoon when I discovered a
lump in my left breast. Panic set in and I immediately made an
appointment at my doctor’s surgery before asking my friend
and neighbour to make quite sure that the lump really existed.
It did.
The hours seemed endless until the morning of Christmas
Eve when I reached the West Timperley Medical Centre. Sadly
my doctor, John Vincent, whom I admire and trust, was not
available so I was examined by a locum who was very nice and
very pregnant.
‘It could be fine but please phone today, and make an
appointment with a breast surgeon.’
My Christmas Eves have been the same for many years.
Collect the turkey or goose from Kirks Butchers in Styal,
Cheshire, then go to see Sister Aloysius at the Hospice,
exchanging our gifts whilst sipping sherry, and finally to
Kirsty’s home to deliver her presents. Although I was making
the same moves, the Christmas songs on the radio unnerved
me. I was feeling petrified. I rang BUPA at Whalley Range for
the first available appointment, which of course was after
Christmas, Monday the 29th
Several years prior to this I had helped to set up an Appeal
for breast cancer, which we christened Genesis. I tried to contact
the marvellous surgeon who instigated the charity, Dr Lester
Barr, but he was on holiday with his family, so I was to see a
Professor Nigel Bundred.
Nothing prepares you for the heart-stopping moment when
you hear the words that change your life forever. Even whilst
going through further investigations I held my breath as I asked
‘So do I have breast cancer?’
There was a very short pause before the Prof said

86
 ‘Yes, a malignant tumour.’
My first reaction was to ask if the operation could take place
there and then. Get it out quick! But Professor Bundred’s advice
was to leave it a few days so I could come to terms with what
was happening. There are times when not having a Mum really
matters, and this was certainly one of them. However, I phoned
my friend and neighbour, Sue, and adoptive parents Joan and
Neil Cliffe, and they arrived to comfort me.
New Year’s Eve was a very strange affair. Sue and I have
shared many of them, always saying ‘Will we still be on our
own next year?’ Still stranger for me was Sue’s Northern 60th
Birthday Celebration, which Phil and I had arranged for
Saturday 3 January, the day before I was to be in hospital.
When the party was in full swing I looked around the room at so
many friends, who seemed to be moving in slow motion.
‘Will I ever see them again?’ I thought ‘Blimey, if you have to
be positive about this situation, then I’m done for!’
The ‘what’s it all about’ syndrome hit heavy, closely
followed by the thought ‘Oh well, if I should die I can have
no complaints. I’ve lived a life full to overflowing: three
husbands and three careers, so stop feeling sorry for yourself!’
Then I thought about Kirsty. She had only lived for seven years and
most of them in hospital – she is far braver than me.
Sunday came soon enough and, after a surprise visit from
Steve and Jan Bruce, I found that Sue had invited more of our
friends and she cooked one of her usual amazing, all-singing-
and-dancing Sunday lunches. As we sat down to enjoy Sue’s
feast, I joked that it was like The Last Supper but no one
laughed!
Sue drove me to the Hospital that Sunday evening and then
returned first thing in the morning to be with me as I was taken
to the operating theatre. I have spent many years of my life in
theatres but this was a performance out of my control. When I
opened my eyes in the recovery room, Sue was there again. She
said that, as I regained consciousness, I gave a barrage of abuse.
Oh thank goodness I’m alive!
It turned out that there were two tumours and I had the
lymph glands removed from my left arm to protect me from the
spread of cancer cells. It was a long four days waiting to find out

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whether the cancer had spread but on Friday, the ninth day of
the New Year, the Prof (who by now I called Nigel) arrived
smiling (good sign!) to tell me that the prognosis was good.
Philip was on his multi-text immediately – yippee, she’s going
to be fine. But mentally I felt anything but fine. For the first time
in my life I was not in control. Even through the darkest years I
had always simply got on with life.
The next hurdle of the treatment left me flailing miserably.
My oncologist, Dr Alan Stewart, realised that I was breaking
down and re-admitted me to hospital for psychiatric care. I felt
so alone. Sue was in London and my adoptive parents were not
in good health. I thought the pain would go if I just couldn’t feel
any more.
Then one day I opened my eyes to see Sister Aloysius at my bedside
and she gave me the hope and inspiration which led me back onto the
path to Kirsty.
I started to focus on the Campaign and I knew that I needed
to reach the target of £5 million for all of us. I had made a
promise five years ago to the Committee – Sister Aloysius,
Father Tom Mulheran, David Ireland and Ged Cosgrove – that,
if it were the last thing I would do, I would raise the money to
secure the Hospice: and I knew I wanted to be with Kirsty at the
end.
Kirsty was not aware of my illness, and of that I am glad, but I
really missed her in my days of recovery. I haven’t been blessed enough
to conceive even with the help of the test tube pioneer Patrick Steptoe,
so Kirsty is the closest I have ever been to any child.
Philip had taken charge of the office and I had every faith in
him, but I had to have a goal of my own at that time as I felt the
Appeal slipping away from me, so I picked up my broken spirit
and got back in the race.

Kirsty’s Mediterranean Adventure

Outward bound, Phil Taylor writes:
‘Island Cruises decided to support the appeal for 2004 and
offered Kirsty and her family a Mediterranean cruise. Realising
instantly that Kirsty could not fly I knew I would have to drive
her to France. I decided Susie would not be well enough after

88
her treatment for a long drive so arranged for the family to fly
with Susie, while Louise would join me on the trip with Kirsty
and her mum.
‘Friday 13 August
‘When the day came Louise, Kirsty, Lynn and I set off in Kirsty’s
favourite car Sally Doolally, (Kirsty named it on account of the sat
nav system). I had planned on two days travelling but I was still
panicking that if the oxygen was not delivered in France, we would
not have enough to travel back. As it was the car was fit to burst,
loaded up with ten 45lb oxygen cylinders, two concentrators, a
large bag of medicines, a huge box of the drip feeds, a bag of
extension tubes for the oxygen, and a suitcase.
‘We were all very excited, setting off on an adventure that we had
never dreamed possible. Thinking a journey of this magnitude for
an eight-year-old little girl would be daunting, I expected Kirsty to
get bored along the way but she never complained once or asked
‘‘how far to go?’’. She always looked to Sally, which displays the
miles and hours left. But woe betide the sat nav on a long stretch of
motorway if she did not speak – Kirsty would shout ‘Wake up
Sally’. Kirsty entertained us with her wit, charm and, of course,
cheek and her ability to invent her own games, played by her rules,
and always in her favour!
‘Reaching Calais, there were 868 miles and 13 hours to go! Kirsty
read the Famous Five to her mum and the card cheating continued
throughout the trip.
‘On our first night I discovered the only missing piece of equipment
that none of us had thought of – a continental adapter plug to set the
concentrator up. Luckily Louise found one at the hotel and, as we
were all tired, we ate and slept in preparation for our next day of
travelling.
‘The only time Kirsty slept was for thirty minutes on the final leg of
the journey. We were all bored without her to entertain us and
couldn’t wait for her to wake so Louise could continue to play
secretaries and for the general banter.
‘We checked in and were all glad to be able to go for a walk and get
some normal food. On Sunday we were to be collected at midday
to be transferred to the ship in Toulon.

89
‘At the ship we were greeted by Captain John O’Neil. I went on
board first to check the oxygen and concentrators had been
delivered and to choose a cabin for Kirsty and her parents. For me
this was also a personal journey. Having always tended to keep my
emotions protected in relation to Kirsty, these two days changed
everything. She had now stolen my heart. ’

We rejoined Kirsty, Lynn and Phil at the ship. Steve and the
girls were really looking forward to seeing Kirsty and to start
enjoying their very first holiday abroad. We had a meeting with
the entire team and then we were led to our cabins. Although
this was going to be a journey for the Howard family to enjoy,
there was an element of work for Kirsty and myself. The
sailaway party was fantastic. We joined the Captain on the
bridge as we left the port. There was champagne and all the
guests on board were thrilled to know that Kirsty was travelling
with them.
Five out of the seven evenings, Kirsty and I were escorted by
cruise director Alex, to give little speeches to the guests and
also, more important, to the staff. Island Cruises arranged for
The Kirsty Story to be shown on every cabin’s TV and, if she was
not known at the beginning of the journey, she was famous by
the end.
Kirsty’s appetite, which had always been a problem,
suddenly was not – it was so good and varied she actually
put on weight.
Each morning, as we docked in a different country, we were
all woken by the anything-but-dulcet tones of the Captain,
telling us what we could and could not do, the times of the
excursions and the timings for departure. It was a huge
rigmarole to take Kirsty off the ship but, with the help of
Marcy, the Guest Relations Manager, two private excursions
were arranged. One was to Rome, the Vatican city, that meant
very little to Kirsty. We showed her the wonderful statues and,
as we made our way out of St Peter’s Basilica into the square,
Kirsty exclaimed ‘Oh look, they’ve copied the Trafford Centre!’
By this time my legs were giving way and Kirsty let me share
her wheelchair. If we stopped for more than a minute on the
road, people thought we were begging. As we neared the Trevi

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fountain, we were guided by two dodgy Roman soldiers, who
looked as if their costumes were made of Brillo pads. Kirsty had
her photograph taken continually and then she sat on the edge
of the most famous fountain in the world; thank God we didn’t
have to clean the coins for that one! I would like to record here
that my most vivid memory of Rome will always be the wish
Kirsty made that day. Just imagine: tiny Kirsty, full of
excitement and expectation, the sound of the fountain and the
splendour of the architecture and Kirsty’s wish was profound ‘I
wish that I could have a baby.’.
Curiously Kirsty’s most vivid memory of that day was when
Phil had his mobile phone stolen whilst we were eating lunch.
Goodness knows why but she thought it was hysterical.
One of the many worries prior to the cruise was how Kirsty
could deal with sea sickness. We need not have worried. Whilst
every one of us was either petrified or being sick or, like Steve,
walking the decks on the night of the biggest storm and rolling
seas – Kirsty slept right through it all.
The days when we were in port, but did not disembark, were
actually very pleasurable as we had more room to swim and
sunbathe and use the facilities.
When we arrived in Ajaccio, Corsica it was a beautiful
morning and Marcy had arranged for the Captain and his
family to join us to visit the seaside. Kirsty’s experience of
seeing sand, buckets and spades and all the things that many
children take for granted is non-existent. As we arrived at this
pleasant cove, one tiny café and a huge stretch of soft sand, it
was the perfect picture postcard.
Oxygen wheels don’t revolve that well on sand, so Steve was
doing his he-man act until we found a place to settle.
Meanwhile Louise, Zoe and Kim just stripped off and ran into
the sea and the three of them were jumping the waves, which
were huge. Kirsty prised herself away from cuddling Alex
because she was so determined to join her sisters and jump the
waves. Everybody got into action stations to organise her tubes
and extension lead to enable her to reach them.
Calamity struck; once everything was in place, the oxygen
was not reaching our little one. As Steve quickly put the oxygen
back on a short lead to enable her to breathe properly, she

91
became quite devastated and broke down into uncontrollable
tears but Alex put on his Superman suit – he certainly did in
Kirsty’s eyes – and began straightening out all the leads. We all
had the same aim and that was to make sure that Kirsty at least
put her toes in the sea.
So Kirsty had her wish and, with a little poetic licence, can be
said to have jumped the waves. Actually these were huge and
there was no way that Kirsty’s little body could withstand the
force and power; she had to be held there The men all lined up
to take turns – Phil, Alex and the Captain, whilst the rest of us
got so much pleasure from watching her happy, expressive face.
It was sheer delight!
That whole visit was so enjoyable that even the Captain was
late back to the ship that day.
Anyone who goes on a cruise wants to have dinner with the
Captain. Kirsty, having already nicked his cabin, was the belle
of the ball at the Captain’s table. Looking back, those seven days
were very special. I have always thought it is all about striving
to raise money for charity and having a good time doing it.

Kirsty takes a break from her cruise, to pray at the

Trevi Fountain in Rome. (LB)

92
Return – Phil Taylor Writes:
‘Sally was set and we drove away from the ship, waving goodbye –
all crying. Luckily, everyone had gone back on board straight away
and no-one saw that we had driven past that ship four times before
finding our way out of the port.
‘Kirsty and Alex had been singing one favourite song throughout
the whole holiday and it only took twenty minutes into the journey
before her little voice chirped up I am Sailing over and over and
over again. I had to threaten to throw her out of the window if she
did not shut up – so she sang it louder than ever.
‘Approaching Paris, I thought a little cultural education might be
in order, so I pointed out the Eiffel Tower. Kirsty gave it the
slightest of glances and replied, ‘‘Do you mind? – I am playing
cards!’’
‘We arrived back in England early and joined the M25. Five hours
later we were still there. It got so bad that the petrol was low but,
more important, so was Kirsty’s oxygen and we were stuck in the
outside lane. Louise used her charms to stop the traffic in the other
two lanes and we had to drive along the hard shoulder to get off
the motorway to change the cylinder and find a petrol station.
‘We arrived back in Manchester safely around the same time as the
rest of the party, who had flown home, and we dropped Lynn off
at Gala Bingo! Louise and I travelled back to my home, missing
Kirsty already, but knowing our lives had been enriched by our
extraordinary adventure.

93
THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

Angel Ball 2005 – We reach £4m

Oooh – where shall we go this year? The guest numbers are
growing but sadly the venues in Manchester are not. I was
looking at the possibilities of GMEX and arranged a visit
through an old friend of mine, Karen Monks who, through her
job with the Bird Consultancy, arranged the PR. We met the
manager, David Mallard, and talked over the possibilities of
such a large venue. I explained that the appeal would never put
down huge deposits and David suggested using the Manchester
International Convention Centre (MICC). It was a vast space
and for our one day would need a huge amount of people and
equipment to make it work. It would also have to be efficiently
managed as there was only an overnight and day to prepare.
It seemed a near-impossible task but Dave and Karen both
realised that the publicity would raise the profile of their

The celebrities congratulate Kirsty on reaching £4 million at the 2005

Angel Ball, at the MICC, G Mex, Manchester. (MEN)

94
Lord Jeffrey Archer presides over the auction at the Angel Ball in 2005.
(MEN)

splendid but underused venue. They were prepared to go

beyond anything I had ever expected, to accommodate the 2005
Ball. Nevertheless, when Louise and I arrived on the day, the
sight that greeted us made our St Tropez tans, sprayed on the
day before, melt into a dirty, lined mess.
The usual suspects arrived, trying to keep out of the way
from cranes, lighting equipment, staging and whatever as the
deliveries began to arrive. A heavily pregnant Esther, a friend
from the Evening News, had arranged the free use of seat covers
and all 700 of them arrived, so Janet arranged the conveyer belt
system again.
Four hundred chairs later, we realise the chair covers are two
different colours. We can’t push the tables forward, stage is not
erected, we can’t set tables as dance floor’s not down, we can’t
finish lighting because the wheels on the crane need to go on the
dance floor. Bloody Hell!
We were nowhere near ready for our artists’ rehearsals and
still had all the tables to set with the pledge envelopes, the
brochures, the prizes, the pencils and the table names The time

95
was racing by, but the staff was not. Panic was beginning to set
in and, once again, the whole build-up was being televised.
Whatever the chaos on a day like this, there had to be a cut-off
point because, when Kirsty arrived, I needed to start the routine
of getting her ready and prepared for her most special night.
By the time the rehearsals for Jon Christos began, the
producer of the Granada Kilimanjaro documentary, Sian,
wanted to interview me. I was so stressed I was stuttering
and I could hardly find time to welcome Hayley Westenra who
Perry Hughes had arranged to join the evening’s entertainment.
Somehow Phil and Louise, helped by Trish, Sue, Janet and
Jenny, tied up all the loose ends and arranged and set all the
prizes in an amazingly short time. This left them with only
fifteen minutes to get themselves ready for the evening but
thanks to their efforts, by the time the first guests entered the
room, the MICC looked a stunning venue for Kirsty’s Angel
Ball.

The Manchester Evening News team at the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro –

left to right: Mark Rix, Paul Horrocks, Phil Davenport, Dave Healey,
Hervey Magnall, Phil Tonge, Ian Marshall and Dave Rix, August 2005.
(MEN)

96
 As well as being our annual celebration, the Ball marked the
countdown to reaching £4 million. As always, the biggest
fundraising part of the evening was the auction and this year we
were certainly blessed. Our auctioneer (arranged through one
of our patrons, Paul Beck) was Lord Jeffrey Archer, who
triumphantly overcame being ‘gunged’ at the entrance, to give a
performance par excellence. And the prizes were spectacular!
One of our very special guests of the evening was Freddie
Flintoff, triumphant from England’s Ashes victory, who had
confirmed he would be in attendance. Freddie joined Lord
Archer to assist with auctioning the signed England bat and
then, on the spur of the moment, decided to donate the actual
bat that he used to gain the final runs at Trent Bridge. Those two
items alone raised £33,500 and, when we celebrated reaching
our £4 million, Kirsty cried with joy and Freddie himself broke
down in tears at meeting her.
Our Last Angel Ball for 2006 will be held at the new Hilton
Hotel on Deansgate in Manchester, where we will continue the
celebration minus the incorrect chair covers and the panic.

Kirsty’s Relapse
‘Kirsty’s dead.’ Those were the words Sue said to me as I
opened the door of Poulton Golf Club. I fell to the ground
carrying Sue with me. We were slumped in a state of disbelief,
screaming and crying. The memories of the moments that
followed still leave me feeling icy cold; I love her so that I felt as
though I had lost my baby.
Since the beginning of the Appeal I have always had my
mobile phone switched on 24 hours a day, not for the numerous
calls regarding the fundraising that interrupt us in unsocial
hours, as they do in E.R., but because of Kirsty herself and
the constant worry about her wellbeing. But on this occasion I
was rushing, arriving from the office and walking along the
water’s edge from my home to the golf club with its
marquee erected ready to house Sue’s guests, celebrating her
Mum’s 90th birthday, an event we were organising the
following day.
Phil, after dropping off some candelabras at the marquee,
had popped in for a drink with Louise at the Chetwode Arms. It

97
was a normal Friday evening until 7:01 p.m., when Phil’s mobile
rang with the call from Kirsty’s dad, Steve.
‘Hi Steve.’
‘Kirsty’s dead.
‘WHAT?’
‘What did I just say?’
‘I’ll call you back.’
Phil put the phone down in total shock and told Louise
about the short, sharp conversation.
What had happened in Steve’s own words was this:

‘On 29 July 2005 Kirsty was admitted to hospital suffering this

time from, of all things, gout. We are so used to life in hospital, it
was just the same routine. Lynn, who always stays overnight,
had gone home to change her clothes and I was sat talking to
Kirsty who was eating some Skittles. Kirsty then went very
quiet. Please don’t let this be the moment I was dreading, but it was. I
nudged her but got no response. I then knew it was a cardiac
arrest. Even though Kirsty’s eyes were open, I knew she was
dead.
‘I ran out of the room, I called after the nurse, the urgency in
my voice left no doubt – ‘‘Jeanette, I need you. . . NOW’’. She hit
the alarm and immediately started to do CPR on Kirsty. Within
minutes the crash team arrived and I was panicking as I
couldn’t get hold of Lynn; she doesn’t drive and I wanted my
wife there.
‘Our home is only a short distance away so there weren’t
that many lights to go through on red! Lynn and I were back at
Wythenshawe, looking on helplessly at the doctors and nurses
trying to resuscitate our little girl.
‘For the next couple of hours it was touch and go and our
hopes were fading. We were then told that Kirsty’s condition
had stabilised and they were moving her to Pendlebury
Children’s Hospital because it specialises in children with
heart problems. To do this they had to bring all the equipment
from Salford to Wythenshawe and slowly had to swap all the
equipment on Kirsty and then re-stabilise her.
‘Lynn stayed with Kirsty in the ambulance and I drove over
there with Zoe and Kim, Kirsty’s sisters. Hours went by, which

98
was really scary and then Kirsty went for a CAT scan and we
held our breath until we thankfully found out that there was no
brain damage. By Saturday afternoon Kirsty was taken off the
life support machine and was breathing on her own. Thank
God.’

After Steve’s initial call, Phil and Louise had left the
Chetwode immediately and headed for Cinnamon Brow
where I live, frantically making phone calls on the way in an
effort to get hold of me. They decided to contact Sue direct but
her answerphone as always took the call and went to
speakerphone. Louise screamed ‘Sue, Joel, please pick up the
phone, it’s urgent!’ and the panic in her voice was enough to
ensure that they did. Phil was so shocked that all he could
manage to say to Sue was ‘Steve phoned, Kirsty has died, get
Susie, we are on our way’.
Phil and Louise live only 20 minutes away, but it seemed a
long journey as they drove while still trying to get back to Steve
on the mobile. They had a couple of miles left to go when Steve
called back.
‘They’re trying to resuscitate her!!’
Steve told Phil there were five doctors and three nurses
working on Kirsty’s little body, trying to bring her back to life.
She was responding, yet only slightly. There was just a four
percent chance of her surviving. Four percent! Although four
percent is very small, it was four percent more than 20 minutes
previously.
As we made our way to Sue’s, she reminded me that special
friends were going to be arriving from London to stay at my
house for Margaret’s party. Then Philip arrived with Louise and
told us Kirsty’s heart and breathing had stopped; the crash team
were trying to resuscitate her.
Through that dreadful night we talked, we reminisced, we
cried, we drank, we flopped, we waited and waited. Sue made
soup, Louise stirred and Sue forced us all to eat something –
Mother Earth as always! We were a group bonded together by
love of Kirsty and the hope and despair that went with that love.
Steve called again at midnight with better news. Kirsty now
had a forty-five percent chance of survival but the next twelve

99
hours were critical. Phil and Louise left to go home. I stayed at
Sue’s and, though she gave me two sleeping tablets, I woke at
5 a.m. to phone Steve. By this time Kirsty had been moved to the
Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and was on a life-
support machine.
Saturday was surreal. I knew that the 90th celebration had to
go on – Sue’s mum Margaret is not going to be 90 again – but
already the radio stations had started phoning me, asking if
Kirsty was dead. There is always someone ready to spread bad
news. I waited until just before 7 a.m. then called Paul Horrocks,
the Editor of the Manchester Evening News and a loyal patron of
our Appeal. It was vitally important to let Paul know the real
situation.
Then, still early in the morning, I went to see Kirsty in
Pendlebury. I expected to see her in bed surrounded by her
family but Lynn, Steve, Zoe and Kim were all exhausted; they
had been up all night and were now in the day room. As I
entered the intensive care ward I could see Kirsty lying there.
She looked so fragile, so incredibly poorly. I prayed that she
would open her eyes and start cheating at cards as she normally
did.
I went through with the birthday event – somehow. There
were all these people screaming at the horse races or reacting to
the singer, Cole Page, enjoying their food and wine. Not five
percent of them were aware how forced were some of our smiles.
At the first opportunity I phoned David and Victoria
Beckham and Mr Al Fayed and I have to confess that when I
spoke to them I did not think Kirsty would make it. The
Beckhams and Mr Al Fayed were in constant touch and David
made me promise to let him know if she regained
consciousness, as he wanted to speak to her as soon as he could.
That night, Kirsty opened her eyes. Sunday morning arrived
and she regained consciousness.
It is hard to believe after the events of the previous two days
that, when I told Kirsty that David Beckham wanted to speak to
her, she beamed as I passed her the phone. There was a gentle
nodding and quiet words. David said that he was very proud of
her and if she continued to be a very brave girl he would send
her the latest Real Madrid strip.

100
 Kirsty on call after her relapse, in Wythenshawe Hospital, July 2005.
(SM for MEN)

By then the world’s press all knew that Kirsty was facing her
biggest battle. Someone had leaked the news of David’s phone
call and it certainly wasn’t me. Although David and Victoria
had consistently supported us for many years, they had both
kept their close relationship with Kirsty private. I phoned
Victoria and asked her how she wanted me to respond. She told
me she trusted me to say whatever I thought appropriate.
Considering the media frenzy around the Beckhams and their
status as celebrities, that trust meant an awful lot to me.
The news coverage was extensive and, as Kirsty slowly
recovered, we kept everyone updated with accurate reports.
The press hounded me for an up-to-date picture proving
that Kirsty was alive and so, since I would not allow any
photographers anywhere near her ward, the Manchester Evening
News gave me a camera with which to prove that our little girl
was on the road to recovery.

101
 Life is fleeting and none of us knows for sure whether we
will still be here in the next year or even in the next hour. In that
sense we are all terminally ill but we tend to act as if this is
something we do not know. Kirsty’s hold on life is so slender
that it should force us to face the reality, but the shock was no
less great when we thought that we had lost her and Phil and I
did not sleep soundly for many, many days.
It may be that by the time you read this book, the heart that
has kept beating so much longer than anyone expected could
have failed, but in the meantime Kirsty fights on and I believe
that the £5m goal has helped her and given focus to that fight as
well as helping so many others in the future.
I will leave the closing words for her father.
‘After Kirsty’s cardiac arrest her recuperation was, as always, at
Francis House Children’s Hospice and on this occasion, the
privacy and the care was even more appreciated. The Hospice is
a wonderful place. Children love being there and, because of

Kirsty recovers from her relapse. (SM for MEN)

102
that, it gives parents and siblings the time we need to relax and
recharge our batteries.
‘Kirsty has loved every minute of the last five years. We
thought that she might get nervous at meeting famous people
but she has taken everything in her stride and has not let one
thing, or one person, faze her. Since the Appeal began she has
met many people, famous and otherwise. Her first and
favourite friend is David Beckham, her musical friend is
Ronan Keating. As far as television goes, she adores
Coronation Street and, although she loves all her patrons and
especially Liz and Bill, her favourite is Richard Fleeshman.
‘Lynn and I are proud of all our children; we have been
blessed with three beautiful girls. We are obviously so proud
that Kirsty will reach her target of £5 million. She has defied all
the odds and long may she continue to do so. Kirsty is now
looking forward to her Angel Ball party, where we will
celebrate with all our family and friends.’

Reflections
Are there any superlatives left to describe Kirsty’s profound
existence? She has achieved more in her eleven years than most
of us do in a full lifetime.
To lose Kirsty is incomprehensible. To lose Francis House is
unthinkable.
When this Campaign began the financial situation looked
like this:
Annual running costs £1,500,000
Staff annual costs £ 600,000

Support from the local Health Authorities 4%

Here we are six years later:
Annual running cost £1,700,000
Annual Staff Costs £1,000,000

Support from the local Health Authorities 1%

Kirsty has done more than any other individual to shine
light upon the plight of Children’s Hospices.

103
 Kirsty’s £5 million, by topping up the shortfalls, will give
Francis House a well-deserved safety net but, with the running
costs rising each year, and still no help from Central
Government, the burden will still be great.
Philip will be remaining with Francis House to ensure that
Kirsty’s legacy continues. Please give him your support . . .
0800 097 1197.
As I retire from my fundraising years, my love and personal
goals will continue for Kirsty. I would like to thank everyone
who has contributed towards Kirsty’s Appeal. Thanks also to
my friends, who have stayed with me through all the in-
between times.
I feel enormously privileged to have played a small part in
an exceptional little girl’s life: Kirsty.

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OUR KIND OF PEOPLE

Patrons
Sue Johnston – Actress
Our first patron was Sue Johnston, of The Royle Family. She could
hardly say no, she couldn’t escape, she lives next door to me!
Sue will always be our Royle and her commitment to the
Appeal is total. She continuously champions our cause, is
always on the lookout for raffle and auction prizes and cajoles
other people to attend and support us.
Sue has become emotionally involved with the Howards as a
family. There have been many times over the past years when
Sue’s words of encouragement have helped Lynn and Steve
through horrendous predicaments.
Of course, if the Angel Ball ever clashed with a Liverpool
game, no contest.

Kirsty with her Patron, Sue Johnston – and teddy bears. (SG)

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Colin Lane – Times Newspaper Group
It is now five years since I met Colin and he is one hell of a guy.
From the first meeting at Francis House, through the numerous
ups and downs as we started the Appeal, he has given
unstinting support. He is one of the funniest and most
entertaining of people. His wicked sense of humour kicks in
on some serious situations. It has been Colin’s part to cajole
newspapers to give us space and to liaise with TV companies for
realistic deals.

Paul Horrocks – Editor Manchester Evening News

Paul has been an amazing patron; without him we would never
have received the phenomenal amount of publicity. As editor of
the Manchester Evening News he helped get the backing of big

Paul Horrocks, Patron and Editor of the Manchester Evening News,

presents a cheque from the MEN team who climbed Kilimanjaro –
Angel Ball 2005. (MEN)

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businesses. For example, when Walt Disney wanted to do an
advertising piece with the MEN, Paul chose us to be the
beneficiaries of monies raised. He has donated prizes, he has
bought tables for all events and he has more than fulfilled his
promises. I think climbing Kilimanjaro says it all!

Dr Harold Riley – Artist

Dr Harold Riley was an obvious choice as he is respected
worldwide. He has donated beautiful paintings which have
raised thousands of pounds in our auctions. He has also
personalized Christmas cards. Harold was a student of Lowry.
His art works are sought after internationally and may be found
hanging in the most famous galleries, basilicas and homes
(including Kirsty’s!).

Tracy Shaw – Actress

Tracy attended a couple of very important fundraising
initiatives when she was starring in Coronation Street and, as
an A1 celebrity, her photograph guaranteed national press. I
wrote formally and asked her if would she become a patron and
immediately, she gave a resounding YES.

Sally Lindsay – Actress

We first met Sally at a fundraising event at the White Lounge
Altrincham. When she arrived she immediately achieved a
special rapport with Kirsty. There was no celebrity edge, she
thoroughly enjoyed herself taking hold of the reins for the
evening and cajoling and generally bombarding people with
enthusiasm. ‘That’s my kind of girl’ and so, when we were
asking for people to support the Southport Paul Yaffe ball, we
invited Sally and it was there that I asked her to become a
patron.

Samia Smith née Ghadie – Actress

Samia started attending events and even ran the Great
Manchester Run before becoming a patron. Coronation Street’s
popularity is enormous and so of course are cast members.
Samia plays Maria and she is as beautiful as a person as she is
as an actress. She radiates sunshine wherever she goes and

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 Patron Shobna Gulati presents – at the 2005 Angel Ball.

she always responds positively to any requests that we make

for her help.

Shobna Gulati – Actress

Shobna Gulati , famous for her roles in Dinnerladies, Coronation
Street and now Where the Heart Is has really challenged herself
whilst being our patron. She even survived the onslaught from
Anne Robinson on The Weakest Link. Shobna’s support spread
through her family as her mum, president of the Inner Wheel,
chose our appeal to receive the benefits from a wonderful
luncheon where Shobna had persuaded 10 members of the cast
to be there.

Russell Watson – Opera Singer

Russell Watson I have known personally for many years and
have witnessed first hand his tremendous rise to fame. Having
sold more albums than Madonna, his popularity was reaching
its pinnacle when he sang at the opening ceremony of the
Commonwealth Games. Following that sensational ceremony,

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Russell was so moved by Kirsty that he decided to make a
record especially for her, which he duly did. Russell also
recently gave us the profits from his win on The Two of Us.

Kate Holland – Marketing at The Trafford Centre

Kate Holland is a very important person. She has been the
decision maker for fundraising at the Trafford Centre from its
inception. Kate is also important to me personally. She is a
strong and wonderful woman and, when I finally got to meet
her after years of begging letters, it was as if we had been friends
forever. Kate has run for us, given 100% support on behalf of the
Trafford Centre and she has also been ‘gunged’ for us. She is
brilliant.

Mark Rix – MEN Media Sales

Mark is a Deputy Managing Director of the Manchester Evening
News. We first met at a luncheon with Paul Horrocks. It was the
first social fundraising event since my breast cancer and it was

Kirsty shows her Patron Mark Rix how to ride a bike, before his team sets
off from Lands End to ride to John o’ Groats. (MEN)

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there that I implored them both to do whatever they could to get
us to the end of the Appeal. Mark has cycled from Land’s End to
John O’Groats and he instigated the gruelling trip to
Kilimanjaro. Mark is a strong and kind man.

Mr Mohamed Al Fayed – Harrods

Mr Al Fayed has been the largest single donor to Kirsty’s
Appeal, and his encouragement and enthusiasm have moved
this Appeal towards our goal. Through Mr Al Fayed’s
friendship we have received donations from very high-profile
celebrities. Harrods hampers have graced all our events and the
generosity that you have read about is nothing compared to all
the wonderful things that he has done for both the charity and
the Howard family.

Paul Beck – Chief Executive L.B.M. Solutions

We have so many things to thank Paul for, not least the
introduction to Freddie Flintoff. Paul, as the Chairman of Glenn
Chapple and Freddie Flintoff’s benefits, has included our
appeal and raised vast amounts of money for us. He has

Patron Paul Beck at Lancashire Cricket Club. (LBM)

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donated many fabulous prizes, always supported our events
and usually buys at least two items in the auction.

Words from Patrons and Supporters

Mr Al Fayed
‘I was deeply touched by Kirsty’s plight after reading about her
in a newspaper. I was determined to do something for her and
went to Francis House to meet her and her family. As soon as
we met I was completely bowled over by this little angel.
Whenever I see her it makes me happy because she has such an
engaging personality and bears her disability with such bravery
that she inspires everyone around her.
‘I will never forget the Christmas when Kirsty came to visit
Santa’s grotto at Harrods. She was dressed all in red and sat on
Father Christmas’s knee looking just like one of his little elves.
All the customers and their children were captivated by her
beaming smile. That was one of many visits that Kirsty and her
family have made to the store. Soon after we met I brought the

Kirsty shows Patron Mohamed Al Fayed round Francis House, in 2003.

(MEN)

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world’s leading specialist in her condition from America to
Britain to help. He was able to suggest treatments which
stabilized the situation and improved the quality of Kirsty’s life
slightly. But there was nothing significant that he could achieve
in the long term so we must continue to pray for a cure for this
adorable little poppet.’

Liz Dawn – Coronation Street Actress

‘Kirsty has the face of an Angel; her goodness shines through
with every smile. Whenever I see Kirsty I am always amazed at
her patience and eagerness to please. For someone so young to
pull at the heartstrings by a look and a happy heart is such an
inspiration to others. Kirsty’s parents must be so proud of such
a blessed daughter. I love to see the special bond between Susie
Mathis and Kirsty. Whenever she appears at fundraising events
she could be with other celebrities such as David Beckham or
the Queen but she outshines them all, she is THE STAR!’

Actress Sue Johnston

‘Susie Mathis is my friend and next door neighbour and had just
started her project fundraising for a hospice with a little girl
called Kirsty fronting the appeal. She said she was coming
round to visit and would I meet her? My first impression on
seeing her as she was then, four years old and very frail
attached to this tank, was quite distressing but within seconds
you realise that pity didn’t come into it, she didn’t ask for any.
She was an ordinary, colourful, endearing, perceptive and
amazing little girl. She loved coming into the garden and seeing
all the animals we have here and they seemed to be very
sensitive to her and adored her. She always calls me
SueJohnston like one big name, never anything else. My son,
like every man, fell totally in love with her and being rather a
good cook, he once made her a spaghetti bolognese when
she was staying over with us for the weekend. Now he has
to cook it for her on a regular basis and it is called
‘SueJohnstonssonsJoelsspaghettibolognese’.
‘I have met many ‘‘stars’’ but I have never met anyone quite
like Kirsty. She actually doesn’t give a hoot who people are. She
likes them or she doesn’t like them, be they the Queen, David

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Kirsty joins The Royle Family and friends – left to right: Sue Johnston,
Claire Sweeney, Ricky Tomlinson and Michael Stark. (MEN)

Beckham or a porter at the hospital. She embraces them all or

she gives them short shrift. She is her own person, she does not
ask for sympathy, she has no self pity.
‘I ran the Manchester Run for her, which I would not do for
any other mortal person; my feet are still killing me 6 months
later, but it was still worth it.
‘When she comes to stay with us, the house lights up,
everything changes, Kirsty rules. We do lots of girly things and
she makes us all roar with laughter. She has a gift, a wonderful
gift for life. There is something special about her existence and
we are all better for knowing her.’

Freddie Flintoff, England cricket Captain

‘When I met Kirsty at her Angel Ball I instantly knew I was in
the company of someone very special – not just because of the
millions of pounds she’s helped raise for Francis House or
because of her constant fight with illness, but because this

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Cricketer Freddie Flintoff and Kirsty up close at Francis House, as Freddie
pledges support from his benefit year, 2006. (MEN)
young girl had the ability to inspire a room of 500 people to do
good and make a difference.
‘Sportsmen, actors, businessmen – no matter who you are,
two minutes in Kirsty’s company and one big beaming smile
and you’re hooked – I was no different and, when given the tour
from Kirsty of Francis House, meeting her friends and their
parents, the wanting to get involved in this great cause was
compounded and through my benefit year has given me the
perfect opportunity to do so.
‘To raise nearly five million pounds in five years is a
tremendous effort for all those involved and has given children
and parents alike much needed help.
‘As for Kirsty, I’m sure your family are extremely proud of
everything you’ve achieved and so should you be. You have a
special place in my family’s heart and thank you for the impact
you’ve had on our lives.
‘I look forward to attending many more Angel Balls,
‘All our love
‘Fred, Rachael, Holly and Corey ‘
xxxxxxxxxxx

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Russ Vine – CheethamBellJWT – Advertising Agency
‘CheethamBellJWT have been offering Francis House/The
Kirsty Appeal their services as an advertising agency for five
years now. Our role is to help Susie and the team use adverts
and marketing activity in general to help raise funds.
‘Over the years we’ve come up with all sorts of angles and
ideas to try and eke a few more pence out of the public. It should
be easy is stating the obvious, to simply say ‘‘This vital work
carried out by Francis House is entirely dependent on
contributions from the public and if everybody gave just a
little bit, the respite of so many kids could be guaranteed’’.
‘But it’s not that easy. Because they are not the only charity
and because, when a society moves as fast as the one we live in,
stopping to give just a little can seem beyond most people.
‘But that’s where Kirsty comes in . . .
‘Kirsty stops people, not just because she is adorable and
cute or because her image tugs on your heart strings like a tonne
weight. Kirsty stops people because, if she can do something to
help, you sure as hell should be able to. Her bravery is beyond
astounding, her smile in the face of adversity a lesson to us
all. We’ve put all sorts of famous people in all sorts of ads
before but Kirsty’s by far the biggest star we’ve ever worked
with!’

Chris Tarrant – TV Presenter

‘My memories of Kirsty and her lovely family are from the day
that I sat next to her at the Pride of Britain Awards. She had bits
of tubing sticking out from all over her dear little face and a
giant oxygen tank had to follow her everywhere she went,
including when she went up on to the stage to get her award.
But she couldn’t have been more cheerful; she simply radiated
happiness and joy to everybody she met, everybody who saw
her. She is a wonderful inspiration to all of us. Her attitude is
amazing and her courage is extraordinary.
‘I think I was the first person on radio in this country to play
the beautiful song dedicated to her by Russell Watson, and it’s
quite impossible to hear that haunting tune without seeing the
image of Kirsty’s beautiful, smiling face.
‘She is a remarkable little girl.’

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 Chris Tarrant. (DM)

Paul Horrocks – Editor MEN – Patron

‘Kirsty will love this book about her – and so she should because
for a child of such tender years, she has already achieved more
that many will do in their whole lifetime. Celebrities,
politicians, football superstars and even the Queen at the
Commonwealth Games, she has greeted them all with not a
moment’s hesitation. I have heard people say that she has been
used and that it has put added pressure on a sick child. Anyone
who has ever met Kirsty will know that it is not true. She loves
the limelight, she has a special glow whenever she is centre
stage – and anyone who looks into those deep blue eyes is
captivated
‘I first met Kirsty over lunch at Francis House. She took me
on a guided tour of the Hospice. As I hauled her oxygen tank,
she made me realise what a special place it is. Her face beamed
with excitement as we entered her favourite room, the
lighthouse it is. Over lunch around the table with her mum
and dad, I encouraged her to eat her jacket potato with cheese
but she only nibbled her food. Kirsty engages you with a smile,
and then she’s off, her attention turned to yet another visitor.

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 ‘At the Angel Ball she cuddled on my knee for a photograph
in her red fairy outfit, and every time I look at that picture on my
desk at home, I know why Kirsty’s Appeal is so important for
lots of children, and why she will always have a special place in
my heart – and the affections of everyone at the Manchester
Evening News. ‘

Richard Bowden – Sterling Events – and Kirsty’s Number 1

Boyfriend!
‘I’d like to tell you about the first time Kirsty and I really
bonded, at a small gathering at the Radisson Hotel a few years
back. I was playing music when Kirsty arrived, she walked
straight up to me and with lots of confidence asked, ‘‘Will you
play Ronan Keating please’’. I played her request, while she
stood next to me giving me the thumbs up and singing to every
word. Kirsty kept me company that night and since then the
Ronan Keating song When you Say Nothing at All has been our
song.
‘We met again a few weeks later when Kirsty introduced me
to her family as her boyfriend, at which I felt honoured; all the
celebrity friends she has made and Kirsty liked me.
‘Getting to know Kirsty better by now I found out her
dislikes – other women! If another woman comes anywhere
near me she becomes very protective. I’ve never seen Kirsty
without a big smile on her face; even if she is tired, she is always
happy. That has to be the thing I admire most about her.’

Rachael Bletchly – Chief Feature Writer Sunday People

‘I first met Kirsty at Francis House at Easter 2000. The People had
decided to back her Appeal and I was sent to meet ‘‘the girl with
the mile-wide smile’’ who had already captured our readers’
hearts. My first impression was of a pair of big blue eyes. . . and
then those tiny fingers with this sparkly nail varnish dipping in
and out of a bag of Prawn Cocktail Crisps!
‘She looked so tiny but she had more inner strength than
ANY of the world leaders, politicians or sporting giants I have
interviewed. Ten months later, I accompanied Kirsty to
Downing Street to meet Prime Minister, Tony Blair – and I
knew that feeling was right. Unfazed by the grand

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surroundings – ‘‘your house is posh, isn’t it?’’ she told Cherie –
she simply tucked into the PM’s biscuits and played with his
baby son, Leo.
‘But, Mr Blair seemed awestruck as he watched Kirsty
enjoying life and defying the doctors. Planting a kiss on her
head, it was clear he could sense Kirsty’s incredible fighting
spirit too.
‘Kirsty has met a lot of famous people since then – The
Queen, David Beckham and countless pop stars. And standing
beside Kirsty, every one of them seems more human and more
ordinary.
‘For Kirsty touches something inside ALL of us and teaches
us how precious life is.
‘And no matter how many millions this incredible child
raises for her Hospice THAT is Kirsty’s lasting legacy. ‘

Martin Spaven – Chief Photographer, The People

‘Looking back over the thousands of frames that I have taken of
her and seeing how she has grown, makes me think of my own
three girls
‘Over the past four years, I have captured many milestone
moments in Kirsty’s incredible life. I have visited her in hospital
when she has looked so pale and tired it made my heart miss a
beat. . . but, she could still raise a smile. And I have seen her
tearing around like a racing driver in her wheelchair and
lighting up with joy when she met the ‘‘real’’ Santa at Harrods.
‘The amazing thing about Kirsty is that no matter what
problems are on YOUR mind, thirty seconds in her company is
enough to make you forget them all. Her throaty laugh and
cheeky jokes (often a bit TOO cheeky for such an angel-faced
youngster!) are like a tonic.
‘It has been a privilege for me to capture the birthdays,
Christmases, Easters and Summer Holidays that doctors never
thought she would live to see.
‘It has been a joy to snap her meeting her hero Becks, pop
heartthrob Ronan Keating and seeing her get her hair blow-
dried by chief admirer – Mohammed Al Fayed.
‘But I think my favourite memory has to be our trip to
Disneyland Paris two years ago. Kirsty had never been abroad

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before – and nearly missed the dream trip because she was back
in hospital the week before with a chest infection. But she was
desperate to meet Mickey and she summoned all her strength
for the trip. When we arrived in Paris, Mum got Kirsty dressed
in her new Minnie Mouse outfit, Dad Steve carried her into the
magic kingdom and Kirsty’s eyes lit up at her first sight of
Sleeping Beauty’s Castle.
‘ ‘‘Do you think I can take a quick photo of Kirsty?’’ I asked.
‘ ‘‘Put me down Dad,’’ she said. ‘‘Where do you want me
then Martin?’’
‘Now THAT is star quality.’

Samia Smith née Ghadie – Patron

‘The first time that I met Kirsty was at the Paul Yaffe Ball in
Southport and my first impression was quite tough for me as I
felt as if I wanted to cry. But within five minutes her courage
makes you forget she is poorly at all and her brilliant
personality shines. That night was so special. I remember
vividly Kirsty being presented with a beautiful doll from
Sandra who organised the event and Kirsty made my heart sink
when she named her doll after her two sisters, Kim and Zoe. As
we enjoyed our meal, she enjoyed chips and beans and fed her
doll.
‘Since then I have run the Great Manchester Run on two
occasions and thoroughly enjoyed this special event. Kirsty
amazed me how she charged around at enormous speed in her
wheelchair. . . .
‘My very special memory of closeness with such a unique
little girl was at the launch of Spiderman at the Trafford Centre
when after the ceremony had ended she held her little arms up
for me to hold her and clasped me really really tight and told me
she could not believe that so many people had come to see her.
‘Kirsty is a truly amazing, precious little angel and anyone
that meets her, can’t help but fall in love instantly, as I did.’

Russell Watson – Patron

‘In the last five years I have had the opportunity to meet some
incredible people, from movie stars to famous sports
personalities, many of whom excel beyond the boundaries of

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what we would consider to be normal. Some of them have left
long-lasting impressions on me. Others, I have viewed carefully
and learnt from. Some have inspired me, some have heartened
me and some have impressed me. There is one person however
who stands above and beyond these in my memory. She is not a
Pope, a President, or a Pop Star. She is not a sports person or a
movie star. She is a seven-year-old girl by the name of Kirsty
Howard: a tiny little thing with a pale complexion, fragile in
appearance but with an inner strength that transcends her
appearance. I remember just before I met Kirsty thinking first
of all ‘‘What will I say to this little girl who had been born with
her internal organs back to front and had been given little
chance of survival by doctors?’’. Boy, was I in for a surprise? She
can talk the hind legs off a donkey! Very funny, very talkative,
and very smart for a child of her age. She has a wicked sense
of humour and because of her personality you find it very easy
to forget that she actually has a problem. One of the funniest of
my encounters with Kirsty was after having been told by Susie
Mathis that Kirsty had taken quite a shine to me. Susie was
joking with Kirsty saying that I was her boyfriend. Kirsty
responded sharply, quickly, and abruptly ‘‘I don’t think so
Susie!! Go away, leave him alone he’s mine!’’. Even
funnier when I introduced my fiancée Roxana to Kirsty.
Kirsty would have nothing whatsoever to do with her. She
stared her up and down and then turned away. We all had a
good laugh about it afterwards. Kirsty always insists on a kiss
when I see her and I am told that she is usually quite
conservative with these. I guess what I am trying to say is
bravery, strength and determination from within seldom comes
in such small packages. Kirsty Howard is a one-off. She’s
battled against the odds and won hands down. Long may that
continue and long may she continue to inspire people as she’s
inspired me.’

Dr Harold Riley – Patron

‘I first met little Kirsty in the back garden of the house where she
lived in Manchester. She was having her photograph taken and
the photographers fussed around her, busily arranging various
positions and poses.

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 Kirsty looks at her special Christmas card, created by Patron
Dr Harold Riley. (MEN)

‘She conducted herself like someone who was totally oblivious

of anything except what they wanted her to do. She was not an
ordinary little girl because she had a glowing charisma.
‘After a while she had her photograph taken with me, her
soft liquid eyes held mine for a moment and she softly laid her
cheek against mine; she had won me over as she has thousands
of people.
‘Not long afterwards she sat for me whilst I made a portrait
drawing of her, a little girl on one hand and an amazing and
tireless worker on the other; thousands of children in the future
will benefit from her ceaseless efforts and her star will shine
forever.
‘Sometimes in life we witness something that stays forever in
our minds, Kirsty will stay forever in my heart.’

Mark Rix– Patron

‘Imagine standing on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in
Tanzania, the highest point on the African continent and the
world’s highest free-standing mountain.

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 ‘The curvature of the planet is visible 360 degrees along the
horizon of the clouds some 10,000 ft below you and your body
struggles for breath with only 40% oxygen available compared
to sea level, whilst sub-zero temperatures sap your energy with
a wind chill that cuts through your specialist mountain clothing
like a hot knife through butter and after a final overnight
gruelling hike from base camp lasting 13 hours, you ask
yourself. . . . . . was the past five days on this mountain worth it?
‘We generally take our good health and fitness for granted,
yet when your body is taken to extremes, it is perhaps possible
to understand a fraction of the hardship suffered and
determination to conquer it that epitomises Kirsty Howard
and all the wonderful children her fantastic appeal has helped
and aims to provide for in perpetuity at Francis House
Children’s Hospice.
‘The decision to organise an expedition to climb Mount
Kilimanjaro was made on the journey back from John O’Groats
in September 2004 after cycling there from Land’s End over
ten days. Our team of five cyclists and our support vehicle
driver had covered 976 miles in ten days and raised around
£15,000 for Kirsty’s Appeal. We realised that we could do
better and set ourselves a target for the following summer of
£50,000.
‘The eight months or so training for the cycle ride was great
preparation for a further eight months conditioning to get up
Kilimanjaro. We decided that this was one way to help Kirsty
(and Susie, Phil and all the team at the Appeal) climb her own
mountain – to raise five million pounds and secure the future of
Francis House.
‘Our team was drawn from all walks of life and all were
touched by Kirsty’s bravery, stamina and wonderful
personality, the inimitable drive and support of Susie and
fundamentally, the wish to help.
‘Between the following people, including both the Land’s
End to John O’Groats cycle ride and the Kilimanjaro climb,
Philip Tonge, Ian Marshall, Paul O’Halloran, Ron Bent, Dave
Healey, Hervey Magnall, David Rix, Paul Horrocks, Phil
Davenport and myself, we raised £137,000 and will be forever
proud that this in some way contributed towards the

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magnificent achievement of Kirsty’s Appeal in reaching the
target of £5 million.
‘When Kirsty put her arms around me and gave me a kiss at
the Angel Ball in 2005 and said thank you, the endless hours of
cycling, climbing, hiking, travelling, training and fundraising
paled into insignificance.
‘This kid melts your heart.’

Sally Lindsay – Patron

‘I have many happy memories of this special little girl, but she
possesses a quality which I find most commendable; an
immense ability to override her disability and enjoy life to the
full.
‘The most poignant memory of this comes from when I
attended one of the many events to raise money for ‘‘The Kirsty
Appeal’’. It was a very star-studded, glitzy event and

Patron Sally Lindsay joins Kirsty and fellow Patron Samia Smith at the
Paul Yaffe Ball in Southport, November 2003. (YFA)

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everybody was looking their best. Kirsty was the belle of the
ball, but it still was very obvious to me that she was growing
into a young lady, her dress was a little more grown-up and her
shoes a bit more pointed, but more importantly she had been
allowed to wear lip gloss!!
‘After the auction, and after her meeting a million people,
she asked me if I’d go to the loo with her and, like all young
ladies she had me take her handbag with us. When we were
washing our hands she asked me to pass her lip gloss, I said she
could have a go at mine, but she said ‘‘No thank you I have a
special one.’’. I took hers out of her bag . . . . . . it was purple, like
her lips ‘‘That’s my colour, you see.’’ she said joyfully.
‘It took every fibre in me not to burst into tears . . . . . .
Whenever I am feeling sorry for myself, because of Kirsty, I
remember the colour of my lipstick. ‘

Kate Holland – Patron – The Trafford Centre

‘When the Centre opened in September 1998, fountains situated
throughout were used for people to throw their loose change
and it was decided that this money should be distributed to
local charities. From research carried out in the Centre, local
hospitals and hospices, and children’s hospices in particular
were recognised as the preferred type of charities to benefit
from fund-raising.
‘Charities that fitted these criteria were approached and
invited to apply for funding. During the first five years 12
different local charities benefited each year from approximately
£25,000 from the Centre. In the first year, this included Francis
House Children’s Hospice. Susie Mathis, fund-raiser for the
Kirsty Appeal, made numerous approaches to me regarding the
funding from the fountains and in 2002 The Kirsty Appeal was
selected to benefit from the Centre. Susie’s enthusiasm, energy
and determination enthused me and made me want to support
this incredible, brave girl in securing the future of this
wonderful hospice.
‘Between 2002 and July ’06, £119,061.54 has been raised for
the Appeal via the Centre. Retailers and staff have been very
supportive of the cause and many individuals have got
involved with their own sponsored events for Kirsty.

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 Patron Kate Holland is on the receiving end of the
Trafford Centre’s gunging. (TC)

‘Kirsty has been to the Centre many times to launch new

fund-raising campaigns. One event in particular, which raised
just over £34,000, was a Spiderman Campaign whereby
Spiderman badges were sold at stores and restaurants
throughout the Centre. Kirsty attended the launch with a
number of celebrities and Simon Gregson aka Steve McDonald
from Coronation Street assumed a Spiderman costume and
abseiled down the huge big screen much to the amazement of
our customers.
‘My most special memory was when Kirsty celebrated her
10th birthday at the Trafford Centre and Richard Fleeshman
sang Happy Birthday to her. Kirsty had only recently been

125
seriously ill in hospital, and to see her that day in high spirits to
celebrate her birthday was truly memorable and emotional.
‘It was a great honour that Susie Mathis asked me to be a
patron of this charity in 2004. I felt a huge sense of pride to be
involved with such a wonderful charity and very privileged.
‘Kirsty means so much to all of us here at the Centre. Her
witty charm and personable attributes, along with her
incredible bravery, has warmed all of our hearts.
‘Susie Mathis and the team should also be recognised for
their amazing work. Susie’s dogged determination has meant
that this £5 million project is now almost complete. She has been
the underpin of this hugely successful campaign and she is
greatly admired by us.’

Bill Tarmey – Actor

‘Meeting brave and beautiful little Kirsty Howard is a truly
memorable experience for anyone fortunate enough to do so. It
certainly was for me.

Coronation Street’s Bill Tarmey has Kirsty’s lipstick on his forehead!

(MEN)

126
 ‘About six years ago, I was patiently awaiting my turn at the
anti-coagulant clinic at Wythenshawe Hospital when there was
a rather unusual ‘‘clunking’’ and I looked up to see a tiny, tiny
little girl with great big eyes who was attached to an oxygen
bottle and tubes coming out of her nose. The oxygen was being
wheeled around by her mother (hence the clunking) and she
was holding the hand of one of her older sisters. Before long,
this vibrant little girl had captivated everyone; she was like a
ray of sunshine.
‘I asked her mother about the necessity for the oxygen bottle
and when she told of little Kirsty’s rare and terminal heart
condition, I had difficulty in holding back the tears. Mrs
Howard explained how they were hoping to find someone to
assist with fundraising, to help not only Kirsty, but to help other
terminally ill children. My immediate advice was that she
should contact the dynamic Susie Mathis.
‘Kirsty was sitting on my knee when I was called in for my
appointment, I gave her and her sister a little kiss and said that
this was a really special day for me, as not only was it my
birthday, but I had met a unique and special little girl.
‘As I was leaving the hospital, I heard my name being
shouted, and when I turned around, Kirsty, her sister (and
mother lugging the oxygen bottle) came running up to me and
handed me a birthday card, which they had hurriedly been and
bought. I was absolutely thrilled.
‘Kirsty amazed and inspired me at that first meeting and has
continued to do so ever since.’

Richard Fleeshman – Actor and Singer

‘I’d heard about Kirsty and sometimes seen her on TV and in
newspapers but didn’t actually meet her until I was invited to
sing at her 8th birthday party.
She came up on stage and I sang You Look Wonderful Tonight.
She did, she wore a gorgeous red dress and looked like a
princess.
‘I bought her a little soft toy and thought she’d think I was a
bit stupid getting her that but she loved it and told Susie Mathis
it was her favourite present. It made me feel very special (but
maybe she said that to all her boyfriends!).

127
 Kirsty with Coronation Street’s Richard Fleeshman at the
Trafford Centre. (MEN)

‘That’s one of the amazing things about Kirsty; she manages

to make people feel very special and she doesn’t realise just how
special she is.
‘Of course, we all feel sad that she’s having to cope with so
much but she still makes me smile every time we meet AND
much more importantly, SHE’s always smiling.
‘When I took part in Soapstar Superstar last January and I
was asked which Charity I would like any money to go to,
I didn’t hesitate, it had to be the Kirsty Appeal.
‘I didn’t know then that I’d be able to present Kirsty with a
cheque for £200,000; that felt great and she was thrilled to bits that
she was reaching her goal with the help of so many friends.
‘Kirsty presented me with a beautiful painting of herself and
it takes pride of place on our living room wall at home.
‘Every time I look at her face she makes me smile and always
will.’

Shobna Gulati – Patron

‘When l first met Kirsty, l was moved by her charm, charisma
and determination.

128
 ‘Her little face and sweet smile conceals ‘‘One Tough
Cookie’’.
‘She made me stop. . . and think about what it is to live life. . .
I have made a conscious thought to choose to live from moment
to moment as if every precious second is my last, also knowing
that I have the responsibility of leaving a legacy to help others
lead a better life.
‘She is my figurehead, my role model. Knowing her has
inspired me and many, to give a chance of living life however
tenuous but so valuable to those terminally ill children at
Francis House.
‘I recommend The Kirsty Way. . . to everyone.’

Zoe Howard, sister

‘When I was nine years old my mum and dad asked my sister
and I to go downstairs as they had some important news. Mum,
Dad, my godmother Linda, Aunty Denise and Uncle Keith were
there. We both knew there was something wrong. They told us
that Kirsty had only been given 3-6 weeks to live. We ran up to
Kirsty’s bedroom and grabbed a teddy bear each. I picked her
favourite, Barney. We were going to keep them to remember
her.
‘Anyway, 3–6 weeks had passed and she was still with us.
It was like a miracle. I’m her elder sister and she tends to look
up to me. We do the typical girly things that sisters do. From
then we treated every minute as though it was our last and we
spend as much time together and make it as much fun as
possible.
‘Kirsty is a cheeky little monkey at times, some of the
stuff that she comes out with has people rolling about
laughing.
‘I do have to admit at times, I find it really difficult coping
with the situation, but then I think to myself, what’s the point in
getting all upset because she is still with us, isn’t she?’

Kim Howard, sister

‘When I heard my baby sister only had 3-6 weeks to live, it
didn’t register. I remember saying to everyone ‘‘Why can’t it be
me?’’ She’s only a baby, this shouldn’t happen to a baby. My

129
family and I thought our world was going to end, but luckily
enough it didn’t.
‘The Angel Balls are amazing. It’s fantastic that celebrities
take time out of their busy lives to appear at the balls. I can
remember the first time, it was out of this world – like a dream
or a fantasy. I was so excited to be around my idols and one of
my biggest and bravest idols is Kirsty.
‘I love it at Francis House because nobody judges you. I hate
it when people judge disabled people just for the simple fact
that they are disabled. They seem to forget that everyone has
feelings and may find certain things offensive. Kirsty is a huge
inspiration to any disabled child because if she can cope then
I’m sure any other person can do the same.’

130
THE FINAL WORDS ARE
KIRSTY’S

Kirsty Howard has captured hearts across the nation and the
world.
Her appeal lies in the combination of her condition and her
courage, her tender years and her maturity, her physical frailty
and her indomitable spirit.
Her Appeal has succeeded through the efforts of many
people – family, friends, stars and celebrities, but above all, the
sheer force of her personality.
In this celebration of her life, let Kirsty have the last words:
on the Angel Balls
‘I like the Angel Balls because all my boyfriends will be there
and we can raise a lot more money for the Appeal.’
‘Before the ball I get to choose what type of dress I want and
what colour. My favourite dress is my red one. Before the ball I
go and get my hair done at Tony’s; Tony is funny, he always
asks who’s going to be there.’
‘Don’t know who I have loved most as there are so many
people who have been special.’
on the cruise
‘The best bit of the cruise was when we stopped off at Corsica
because I jumped the waves with Phil and Alex for the first time
in my life.’
‘The ship was big, the food was nice, loads to choose from,
I ate a lot there – that’s the main thing. I was having too
much fun. I jumped the waves for the first time in Corsica. I
wanted to jump the waves because my sisters were doing it.
But then, my lead broke and Alex mended it The sea was
fun. Alex and Phil chased my mum and she didn’t want to go
into the sea and she fell so she was already wet. That was
funny. We buried Zoe first and then Alex buried me in the
sand.’

131
on her hero, David Beckham
‘David is special because he is kind and caring towards me.
‘When Zoe passed her exams & David said ‘‘I didn’t pass my
exams – it’s a good job I can kick a football’’ This story makes
me laugh.
‘Always special about David Beckham – liked walking out
on the pitch when he was playing Greece. It was very exciting. I
fancied him at the time and it made it very special – he will
always be special to me.’
on the Commonwealth Games
‘The games were a bit scary because there were so many people
there. I was worried about the baton because I wasn’t sure if I
could carry it but luckily David was there to help me.
‘We went out and waited for David to come round with the
baton, we walked up to give it to the Queen. I waited with my
arms wide open to give him a big hug.’
on the Great Manchester Runs
‘I like the Great Manchester Run as I am always Number 1.’

A kiss for David Beckham at the Lowry Hotel in 2005. (CG MEN)

132
on Blackpool Lights
‘I’d just got out of hospital that day and I went to Blackpool to
turn on the lights with Ronan Keating. I thought he was
gorgeous.’
on The Appeal
‘Why I wanted to do the Appeal? To help keep Francis House
open for all the children. It’s exciting. I like the jacuzzi because
it’s nice and relaxing. The carers are funny. I like the computer
room. I like to play with the music – I like the piano best. The
hospice is better than the hospital because the food is better.
Dean’s a good cook.’
on Mr Al Fayed
‘I think Mr Al Fayed is a great man to be with because he is
always smiling.’

LEFT: Sir Alex Ferguson shows Kirsty how to golf at Man United’s
training ground while RIGHT: Kirsty peeps round rugby giant
Jonah Lumo. (Both MEN)

133
in answer to some questions:
‘Can you think of the funniest thing you have done or the things you
have laughed at most’
‘I can’t because I laugh every day of my life’

‘How does it make you feel to have raised £5 million?’

‘It makes me feel so proud of myself.’

‘What is the Hospice like?’

‘The hospice is a great place to be because there is a lot to do and
you can make new friends nearly every time you go in. The
parents get a rest and they can stay in too and their brothers and
sisters can stay if they have any brothers and sisters.’

Kirsty meets the Chuckle Brothers at the Opera House, Manchester. (LB)

134
ABOVE; Davina McColl shares a girly moment with Kirsty at the launch
of the Swedish jewellery exhibition at Harrods in August 2004, and
BELOW: Gloria Hunniford joins them with the proprietor. (Both HPO)

135
ABOVE: Man on the moon Neil Armstrong meets Kirsty at Tatton Park,
September 2003, and BELOW: two years later, Coronation Street
veteran William Roach ‘raises brass’ for Kirsty at Bridgewater Hall,
Manchester in June 2005. (Both MEN)

136
 ABOVE: Louise Blenkharn registers shocked delight at reaching £4
million while BELOW: Phil promotes Spiderman badges – all in 2004.
(Both MEN)

137
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My thanks go to, in alphabetical order:

Action Images Limited, Anthony James Hair, Avalon Group
Limited, Alyson Jones, B.B.C Sports Personality of the Year,
Bees Knees Limousines, Bernard Wood, Bird Consultancy,
Breville, British Airways, Centre Parcs, Champion, Cheetham
Bell JWT Limited, Cheshire Building Society, Coronation Street,
Daily Mirror, Daily Telegraph, David & Jan Artingstall, David
& Victoria Beckham, Design Karma, Drivetime Ltd, Esure.com,
Express Newspaper Group, Football Association Official Photo
Library, Freeth Cartwright LLP Solicitors, Gate Films, Gavin
Smith at Hello Magazine, G Mex, Harrods Charitable Trust,
H.S.L. Entertainment, Island Cruises, John Jeffay MEN, John &
Martin at Hovington Limited, Joynes – Pike Group Ltd, Jon &
Lin of John Pimblett & Sons Ltd, Kendals – House of Fraser,
Lavelle Designs, L.B.M. Solutions, Lynn & Steve Howard, Lisa
Escasany & Harrods, Lucy Lockett Ltd, Martin Spaven, Mahood
Marquees, Manchester City Council, Manchester City Football
Club, Manchester Evening News, Manchester United Football
Club, Mike & Jan at Solway Exhibition Centre, Mountrose
Limited, Nova International, Perry Hughes, Planet Mobile,
Photographers & Picture Desk at M.E.N., (Emma Williams,
Mark Waugh, Paul Simpson, Howard Walker, Chris Gleave,
Richard Kendal), S.J.M.Concerts, Spex Opticians, Stratstones
Saab Manchester, The People, The Royal Bank of Scotland,
Times Newspaper Group, Trafford Centre, Yaffe Fusion Art,
and every single person who has helped us achieve Kirsty’s
goal.
Key to caption credits

AIL Action Images Ltd

CB JWT Cheetham Bell JWT
CG MEN Chris Gleave, Manchester Evening News
DM Daily Mirror
DT Daily Telegraph
HPO Harrods Press Office
HR Dr Harold Riley
LB Louise Blenkharn
LBM L.B.M.
MEN Manchester Evening News
MH Mark Hendley
MS P Martin Spaven – People
NI Nova International
PM CB JWT Paul Moffat – Cheetham Bell JWT
RK BBC PO Richard Kendal, BBC Press Office
SG Smiles Gavers
SM for MEN Susie Mathis for Manchester Evening News
TC Trafford Centre
TD Trish Davies
YFA Yaffe Fusion Art
Susie Mathis was born in London and spent her early
years at a stage school in Northampton, leaving aged 13 to
join the local repertory theatre. She then sang and danced
in musicals and productions in the West End and toured.
In 1967, along with two former school friends, Susie
formed The Paper Dolls pop group and in 1968 the girls
achieved great success with a massive hit Something Here,
Here in My Heart. Then followed appearances on Top of the
Pops, Morecambe and Wise, The Two Ronnies.
Susie continued to record, appearing on Top of the Pops
under many guises, including Tiger Sue, The Madisons
and Colorado. She then re-formed the Dolls, both touring
and cabaret. Susie has either appeared or presented on
T O T P’s over four decades.
In 1979 Susie joined Piccadilly Radio and by 1981
became Independent Radio’s first daytime presenter. Her
subsequent success led to her prestigious Sony Radio
Awards for ‘Personality of the Year’ in both 1985 and
1989.
Susie has contributed to many deserving causes and
charities since 1981 and, although brought up in showbiz,
she says the most rewarding part of her life has been with
Kirsty.
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